1337 0f 2er0
by Killuminator
Summary: You know him. The first of the Spartan II. Spartan 1337. Also so known as the Failure. So what if he become a hero in a different universe ?
1. First Contact

**Author's note : I created this out of boredom. My other story, 'Kurosaki Beelzebub', is currently on hiatus, although still being developed, I ain't gonna release until someone gives me some reviews.**

-Somewhere in space-

Spartan 1337 had always known that he had the worse luck out of all Spartans, but his life is just ridiculous. As long as he can remember, he felt off the Pelicans and Albatrosses, or any kind of air transportations that don't go to space, and the only time he didn't fall off was on a test drive, which he failed, but at least he didn't fall off. He knew that he often messed things up, but it didn't matter, since his awesomeness made up for the failed missions, and the amount of Covenants that he killed in an extremely epic way.

He sighed again as he float in zero gravity of the rest of the broken cargo compartment of the Unidentified Civilian Cargo Ship, dubbed as the UCCS by civvies. He was ordered to run a simple errand as delivering supplies to a new settlement to rebuild some old colony. Even the destination of the ship was preset before he went, and still somehow he messed up, by spilled coffee on the cruise control, and now floating endlessly in the vast space.

He sighed again as he remembered the good old time, when the war with the Covenant was still raging, when he could go all out to prove his awesomeness to his fellow comrades, and to prove he isn't a failure as a Spartan. Even though he is a Spartan II, he is not perfect. He was one of the very first Spartan II, and thus ended up as an incomplete experiment. He survived the augmentations, but it only enhanced a part of what he was supposed to become. His strength, speed, endurance and combat abilities had been improved surpassed even his fellow Spartans, and hell, even John-117 couldn't be on par with him in term of pure power. But his intelligence was kinda messed up, and so does his personality, and his sexual drive wasn't fully suppress.

He was thankful to Dr. Hallsey, since she at least didn't mark him as a failure. Sure she was strict, but not entirely unreasonable. And he is a very reasonable person. 1337 was one of the most socialable people of the entire Spartan II project, and always sent to diplomatic missions, although his cocky attitude often ended up as a catalyst to the failed missions. But nonetheless, the USCN staffs and Marines, hell even the ODSTs acknowledged him as a person, and not a ruthless, emotionless killing machine that they saw the rest of the Spartans.

But that was the past. Now he was stuck in a cram cargo, floating in space, awaiting rescue. At least before the ship broke apart he could send an SOS message. And he was lucky this time, perhaps it was Karma, but he could care less. The cargo was the only section that didn't blow up, and filled with supplies, such as grains for agricultures, ammo and weapons to defend any kind of threat the colony had, or any of the Loyalists that still lingered out there.

At least he still had his personal package filled with bio-foams and nutrition pills. He had learned it the hard way, since he often ended up lost in different planets, he could at least need the strength to get home, and the need to tend himself in case he got hurt, which "happened all the time", as dubbeb by John-117. Even if he knew he was too awesome to be done in by such minorities, he still needed his body in top shape condition, to maintain his awesomeness. But for now, he floated there, awating his rescue. If he only knew what fate had in store for him.

-Somewhere in a distant universe-

"My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, heed my summoning... and bring forth...my familiar!" A short girl with a pink hair named Louise finishes her chant before casting down her wand.

As expected by the other mages surrounding her, a very large explosion occurs after that which is followed by a large crash and metal bending sounds. Everyone is quite hurt by that explosion as some are lying on the ground coughing. Guiche, a flamboyant boy with blond hair and a frilled shirt, then sees his lover interest, Montmorency, and quickly assists her. But Montmorency isn't responding to him and her eyes are looking at a very unusual surprise. Guiche notices it and looks at the direction of Montmorency's line of sight and is dumbfounded.

Before Louise, who is on the grass and gazed in shock, was looking at a large unusual, overturned, metallic and black sort of cage. The other students, who later saw it, gasped along with Prof. Colbert. Prof. Colbert was quite surprised and very intrigued at the thing in the yard. They were surprised when out of nowhere, they heard a groan, along with some kind of mumbling in an unknown language. They searched for the source of the sound, and soon found it coming from the cage. Two large armored hands come out of the opening under the metallic cage. The cage was then pushed upward and overturned. The cage couldn't remain intact as it makes a loud crash and imbedded itself on the wall of the castle. But what was more surprising was the sight that they now beheld. A large armored humanoid form is standing up on the ground. Its body is covered with green armor with black underneath and no flesh can be seen. There are also items attached to the armor and all of them look very strange to all of them.

-Earlier-

The Spartan is clutching at the rack of the weapons as he felt a pulse of gravity. As he looked outside, a blinding white light met him, making him averted his gaze.

"Interceptions ? Whom ? If it's the USNC they would have confirmed me." With the thought in his mind, he quickly grabbed an Energy sword, an Energy shield and a handful of spare Covenant batteries before the light blinded him as 1337 felt like he was sucked into a black hole.

-Inside the portal-

The Spartan opened his eyes to find himself being propelled towards the end of the tunnel made out of white light.

"What the hell ? Where am I ?" He starts looking around when suddenly he hears someone speaking.

"_My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, Heed my summoning... and bring forth...my familiar !"_ a female voice said in a different language.

As he reached the end of the light tunnel 1337 thought that whatever was going to happen was better than being is stuck there in the unknown. The portal sucked him in along with the weapon rack he was holding to and closed behind him. He then found himself hitting the ground on his back then the rack falling over him. Thankfully the large metal rack didn't hit him directly. For that, he thanked his own awesomeness.

-Back to present-

"Ow." 1337 let out a groan as he shook off all the weapons and let a rack flew off him with a simple swing of his arm. Where it went to he didn't care. Slowly he stood up and ran an initial scan on himself and the armor system, and all things turned out to be fine. However the motion tracker in his HUD indicated that there were about 50 units inside a radius of 20 meters close to him. Instinctively, he immediately picked up the nearest weapon to him, which was a M90 shotgun. 1337 cocked it, and pointed out in front of him. But what he saw surprised him.

He saw a bunch of kids dressed up in some kind of robes, each one of them holding a twig, and strange, possibly mutated animals standing next to them. But what caught his attention were three things. The first thing was the large blue winged lizard creature standing next to a glassed girl with a staff in her hand. 1337 knew that this was a dragon, after all he studied some knowledge about ancient history, where this creature would come into play. But he never expected to see one in front of his eyes. The next things ne noticed was the huge ass castle in the background and the blue sky in the further back. But the most important thing, the short pink haired girl who was standing in front of him.

Louise stared into the barrel of the strange musket that this creature pointed at her. She was frightened. Anyone would if they had a 7 foot tall armor being pointing a gun at his head. But her noble pride would not allow her to act like she was afraid, and with a demanding tone, she spoke.

"Who, or what are you, familiar ?"

1337 looked at her and heard she spoke. He recognized her voice as the voice inside the portal. And thus he booted up an translation program to find out she was speaking in an old branch of French. As the program was ready, he answered with a laugh.

"So you want to know who I am huh ? Well let me tell ya, I am one of the greatest warriors in space. I am Spartan 1337. What ? No applause ? What kind of audience is this ?" He mumbled to himself.

He then noticed an older man with bald head and a different robe, which he quickly assumed that the old man had some kind authority in this place. 1337 turned the man and asked him about this place.

"Mister, can you tell me where I am ? And what is going on here ?"

Prof. Colbert was startled from the armored being's attention but then decided to answer its question.

"You're in the courtyard of the Tristain Academy of Magic, where we held the Springtime Summoning Ritual. My student Louise de La Valliere," He points to the pink-haired girl, "summoned you here as her familiar."

"Sorry sir, but I don't believe what you are saying. Magic does not exists. Are you some kind of cult ?" 1337 sated at him ridiculously. Prof. Colbert then summoned a small fireball from his staff and levitated it in his palm.

"Interesting, so I believe you for now. So where am I ?"

"We can answer your questions later. Another class is about to perform the ritual." Prof. Colbert told him. "We need you to hurry up and finish the summoning ritual. From the look of you, I don't think you are a golem, since golem are not this small. Are you human perhaps ?"

"Of course, what do you think ?" 1337 looked at him like the old man was demented.

"Very well, so I need you to remove the helmet."

"Right, so now what ?" 1337 asked before removing his helmet. Anyone gasped as they saw his face in sight. Of course, what would you think, his awesomeness wasn't just limited by his epic power, but his look as well. His skin was pale, but kind of exotic at the same time. His hair was dark brown, and it was cut short. He had scars on his face, one on the bridge of his nose, and the other one on his left cheek, gave him the look of a war veteran. His eyes were gray, which he asked for during his augmentation, because he thought it was cool. But nonetheless, he was one heck of a handsome guy, even if he said it himself. But then it kinda annoyed him when the kids started laughing, but it wasn't directed at him, so he could just care less.

"Consider yourself lucky, commoner." Louise said as she stood closer and motioned him to stand lower. 1337 understood the movement of her hand, kneeled down to one knee so his eyes met her face. Before he could complained she pulled closer and kissed him. He knew that he is handsome but to this extend is a bit to bold for him, but then he figured that he was too awesome to care. He was lost in his thought when a numbing and tingling sensation filled up his left hand, and it started to heat up. As sudden as it came, the sensation was gone before he knew it. Looking at his arm, he could see the glow emanated under his gauntlet.

"Can I see your hand please ?" Prof. Colbert asked as he held out his hand.

"Sorry what did you say ?" 1337 asked after he put on his helmet.

"Can I see your hand."

1337 pulled off his gauntlet and show him the hand. He was surprised when he found the strange letters embedded in his hand.

"Ah yes, these are strange runes indeed." Colbert talked to himself as he hastily copied the runes to a piece of paper. After he was done, he turned to the class and spoke.

"Okay, class is over. All students please return to your dorm."

After that, he waved his staff and flew to a tower of the castle. Some other students also flew off to their room while the rest walked to the large wooden door to enter the castle. Louise was among them. After several staircases and a few turns, they were at her room.

The room was bland but to a Spartan it was enough. It consisted of a wardrobe, a round table with a small oil lit lamp and a large bed with a stack of hay on the floor next to it.

"You will be sleeping there familiar !" Louise told him as he looked at the corner with the bundle of hay.

"Aw hell no." 1337 answered, very annoyed. "Who do you think you are commanding me like that ?"

"That was what I want to ask." Louise put her hands on her hips, a pose was supposed to be intimidating, but it was not helping if said person only reached the armpit of the Spartan. "I am your master, and you are a familiar, so you must obey me."

"No." was his simple answer. Who the hell does she think she is ? No one mess with a Spartan, and no one mess with the awesome 1337. Out of nowhere Louise pulled out a whip proceeded to hit the Spartan with that, only to have it caught between his fingers and he snapped it like a twig. Oh he was so enjoying the look of the fear stricken on her face.

"I am going to sleep." And with that Louise turned her face to him. "Undress me."

"What ?"

"A simple command like that and you don't understand ? I said undress me."

"A simple task like that could be done by yourself. I'm outta here."

And with that 1337 walked out of the room and closed it behind him, leaving a startled Louise. As he walked down the gate, he saw a figure of a girl in a maid uniform, or that was what the magazine one of the marines gave him said it was. She had black hair and bright blue eyes, and the most prominent feature was her large bust. She was cheerfully dusting off a bust of some old man with a long beard.

"Ah excuse me miss." He called out.

"Ah yes, sir…?" the maid asked.

"You can call me Spartan."

"Yes sir Spartan what can I do for you ?"

"Can you find me a large sack, favorably made by cloths, and a place where I can use as a storage ?"

"That would be no problem. Please follow me." She smiled as she led him out of the castle and walked to a small shed behind the castle. She opened it with a small key and pulled out a bag.

"Is this good enough for you ?"

"This should do. Thank you miss…?"

"The name is Siesta."

"Thank you miss Siesta."

"My pleasure." She smiled. "You can use this shed as storage. I used it to store my cleaning tools."

"Thank you. So where can I find you to return the key ?"

"I'm often found in the kitchen. Come there when you are done."

"Once again thanks." 1337 smiled beneath his helmet. He began to like this girl more. She seemed more sincere and kinder than that stuck up pink shorty. As he walked away with the sack, Siesta returned to her duty.

Walking back to the place where he was summoned, 1337 began to gather all the weapons that he had swept away behind a tree before he left. Apart from the his own pack of nutrition pills, the M90 shotgun, the energy sword, energy shield and a pack of spare Covenant batteries for the energy weapons, he found a MA5C Assault Rifle, some plasma grenades, a box full of 7.62x51mm FMJ clips, about ten of them, and lastly a box full of 8 gauge shotgun shells, containing 60 rounds. He put it all in the sack after he loaded the M90 full, and walked back to the shed.

Putting the sack to a well hidden corner of the shed, he sat down and put off his helmet. This was too much even for him. Well, he gotta find a way home anyway, just like always. He popped a nutrition pills down his throat and put his helmet on. Sat on a corner next to his bag, he slowly dozed off to sleep.

**Author's note : Yeah that's about it. I did this out of boredom. 1337 or Leet as I call him, is one of my favorite Spartans, and somehow I see it fit for his nature to be lost in the most unusual ways possible. Well if you like it please review.**


	2. Engage

**Author's note : Another day of boredom. Without a thing to do, here is 1337 again.**

-Tristain Academy of Magic-

1337 woke up and he found himself sitting in a corner of a small building. Slowly he stood up, only to get his head nearly banged against the ceiling. He remembered what happened yesterday. The failed mission, the portal, the pink girl, Siesta. Ah yes he must return they key to her. As he put on the M90, he made sure that the sack with weapons was hidden out of view, all of them under safety switch before moved out.

The fresh air hit him like no other planet had. Of course, some planets had the green life preserved, but it was nowhere pure and fresh as this one. There was no trace of filth in the air, and it felt really different than the ruined warzone he had been to. He started to run 20 laps around the wall of the castle, as a small exercise. To normal people, it was heavy training, but to a Spartan, it was no more than a walk in the park. At the last round he retrieved the weapon rack that was still stuck into the wall and put in next to the small shed. He could still use this. If he melt it down and made a weapon out of it, it would be great, or break it down to construct something else.

It was early in the morning, but he could already see the servants, mostly maids, running around the castle. 1337 noticed that Siesta was nowhere to be found, and decided to find his way to the kitchen. He asked a maid, almost gave the poor girl a heart attack when the giant asked her the way to the kitchen. She pointed him the way after he assured her he was no threat, thanked her and ran to his destination.

"Hey Siesta !" he called out in front the kitchen. "Miss Siesta !"

The maid poked her head out of the kitchen as she recognized the voice, and walked to him after she put down the plate she was holding to.

"Good morning miss Siesta. I am here to return the key."

"Thank you sir Spartan." She smiled. "But shouldn't you be in the great hall where your master is having breakfast ?"

"Ah breakfast, almost forgot." 1337 scratched his head sheepishly. "Thanks again. So can I do something to repay the favor ?"

"You can help me serve the food at lunch. It will be in the yard, so you can find it easily."

1337 nodded as he took off. He didn't have to find his 'master' as he saw the pink shorty walked up to him.

"Well, I apologize for yesterday's event." She spoke. "How about we start off again ?"

"Oh so now miss Short need the help from the awesome Spartan." 1337 asked, enjoyed every moment. "So tell me, what do you want."

"Well don't expect me to do this from my own will. The Headmaster ordered me." The pinkette was red with fury. "I had summoned you as familiar, and thus it remains so. You will serve me, if you want it or not since you had formed a contract with me."

"Make me. And if you don't want this, then sever this so called contract of yours. I don't care. Why should someone as awesome as me serve you ?"

"Because I summoned you." Louise was really mad now, but couldn't express her rage. If she did, they would laugh at her, for failing at controlling her own familiar.

"So let me get this straight." 1337 cleared his throat. "You took someone away from his home, forced a contract upon him, treated him like an animal and now you want his help."

"I am sorry." Louise mumbled.

"Say it again ?" 1337 said. He heard her the first time, his enhanced hearing was good, but he wanted to enjoy the look on her face a bit more.

"I said I am sorry." Louise almost yelled, and then spoke in a softer tone. "You are my first success, you know. They call me the Zero, for my success rate is zero. I am a failure of a mage, and a noble."

She was surprised when she felt a hand gently patting on her shoulder. Looking up, she found the golden visor looking at her, and the giant patting her shoulder.

"I know the feeling." Spartan sighed. "I was also known as the failure among our brothers and sisters. And yet I still stand tall. Because if you work hard, then you can prove that you are awesome. I did the same thing."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Now can we set terms on this contract ? What is the duration, conditions and things that I need to know about this contract ?"

"Yes. The contract is a lifetime contract, until one of us die."

"What ? I have to be your familiar for life ?"

"Yes." Louise simply nodded.

"Fine. I simply don't have much of a choice until I got rescued, so I'll stick with you for now." 1337 sighed. "So what is my job ?"

"As a familiar you have to do everything that I say, but the most important task of a familiar is to protect its master from any harm."

"I can do that. But I won't obey any commands that go against my morals. And also, things that you can do yourself, do it yourself, I'm not helping you with that. Deal ?" He pulled out his hand.

"Fair enough." Louise pouted. She learned that she should not force the Spartan to do things that he didn't like, since he is strong enough to snap her in to pieces like a toy. She stared that the hand of the Spartan and pulled out her own hand, wondering what he wanted to do. She just stared at the golden visor when his hand took hers and shake it gently.

"Let's get some food I'm hungry." She said. The Spartan just nodded and accompanied her to the Great Hall.

-Great Hall-

"Okay I admit I agreed to be your familiar but this is insulting." 1337 said as he looked at the plate of thin soup and a piece of hard bread on the cold stone floor. As a Spartan he had worse, even had to improvise from plants and bugs in the environment to survive when he ran out of pills. So this could be viewed as a good meal in time of war. But this is not war, and compare with what she ate, this is dog food. And of course, 1337 was too awesome to eat dog food.

"How come you have that and I got this ?" He asked as he looked at Louise, who was sitting on a chair with the plate of steak served.

"Because I am a noble and you are just a familiar." Was her simple answer.

"Just a familiar ? I am Spartan 1337, the awesome strongest warrior in space. If you want my help at least treat me as an equal."

"My my what is this ? Louise the Zero who can't even control her own familiar ?" A feminine voice spoke in a mocking tone. As the Spartan looked up, he could see a red-haired girl with tanned skin, and bust size comparable to Siesta stood there with her back hand to cover her smirk.

"Kirch." Louise clenched her fists and teeth.

"Valliere. And of course, no one but the Zero could summon a plebeian as a familiar. Hohohoho." Kirch laughed and walked away.

"I'm not a plebeian. I am the awesome Spartan 1337."

But Kirch could hear him no more as she walked away.

"Why do people keep ignoring me during my introduction ?" 1337 sighed as he scratched his head, eh, helmet. "Maybe I need a more epic line." He mumbled to himself.

"Quit mumbling like an idiot and eat your meal." Louise demanded.

"I am not a dog." 1337 said as he took off his helmet. People who didn't see him yesterday gasped in shock as the armored familiar appeared to be human, and a handsome one at that. 1337 took out a nutrition pill and swallowed it. After that he put his helmet on.

"I am going to scout the school. You have lessons right ? I will see you at lunch in the yard." 1337 said as he walked away, leaving an angry Louise behind. He loved it when she was mad at him. Somehow it gave him great satisfaction. Only when she could treat him as an equal, he would treat her seriously.

-Outside castle-

1337 spent the morning strolling around the school, trying to remember all the details and add it to the map he was making inside his helmet. The other familiars, mostly animals, although they looked like genetically mutated, except for the dragon, though 1337 is wary about the whole deal with it, had been rather pleasant to have as companies. They were waiting outside the classes for their masters, and 1337 decided to sit down and rested after he was done with the map. That is until he got disturbed by the sound of explosion from one of the classroom.

As he hurried to the site, he found people taking cover behind tables and chairs, and in the middle of the explosion, or what was left of the area, sat Louise.

"Looks like I made a little mistake." Louise said as she dusted off the dirt on her face.

"What ! How is this "little"?" the chubby blonde girl asked. "You blew the whole class room up !"

"Your percentage of success is zero !" A curly blonde haired boy who wore a frill-trimmed shirt boy shouted.

"You Zero Louise !" the redhead Kirch added angrily.

Louise continues to wipe off the dirt from her face and ignores their rants. She then looks down to the floor where Mrs. Chevreuse, her teacher, laid unconscious behind her desk. 1337 just walked toward Louise and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Let's get this cleaned up, shall we ?"

"Why are you helping a failure like me ? I am not even fit to do such a simple spell without blowing things up."

"Because I'm your familiar. You asked me for help right ? You know, getting stuffs blown up can be useful. You would fit right in the demolition unit in my place." He laughed at this, although no one was laughing.

Louise smiled at this and took his hand as acceptance of his offer. The spent the rest of the morning cleaning up the classroom until the bell rang. When the bell rang, it's indicated that the lessons are over, he hurried over to the kitchen, only to find Siesta pushing a kart filled with food.

"Ah there you are, I was looking for you." 1337 greeted as he found Siesta.

"Ah yes sir Spartan, I take it that you will help me with these cupcakes ?" Siesta smiled.

"Please drop the sir, I am just a soldier. Call me Spartan, and sure I'll help you with these cakes."

Siesta said nothing, but smiled and nodded instead. Together they walked toward the nobles, who were sitting in the yard, enjoying their meals. 1337 served the cupcakes and sweet desserts to the nobles, ignoring the stares they were giving him. As a Spartan, he was used to being stared at, since not everyone was even friendly toward a Spartan.

He then noticed a student standing out from a group. The same curly blonde haired boy that was yelling at Louise back in the class. He also has a rose stuck in his shirt pocket. The boys around him were asking him.

"Hey Guiche ! Who're you going out with now ?"

"Yeah. Who's your new lover, Guiche ?"

"So his name is Guiche. A gay looking brat and a playboy_._" 1337 thought. "Wait, is my vision betraying me ? I know I hadn't eaten in a while but why am I seeing pink background and sparkling dust around this Guiche ?" 1337 blinked a few times, and opened his eyes only to see the background faded away but the sparkling dust remained. "He is gayer than I previously thought."

"Now boys." Guiche told the other boys. "I hold no woman in such special regard. After all, a rose blooms for the pleasure of many."

Suddenly, something falls out of Guiche's pocket when he pulled out his rose to strike a dramatic pose. The object turned out to be a small bottle filled with purple liquid. 1337 left when Siesta told him that the job was done, thanked him before leaving. He picked up the bottle that Guiche dropped and then places it on the table in front of Guiche.

"This fell out of your pocket earlier." 1337 said as he poked at Guiche's shoulder.

"I believe you're mistaken, familiar. That bottle doesn't belong to me." Guiche replied and waved his hand, and turned away from the bottle.

"Hey isn't that Montmorency's perfume ?" One of the boys said.

"Yeah. It is. That is definitely her perfume, that purple color is unmistakable from her. You're going out with Montmorency, aren't you Guiche ?" another one said.

Guiche was about to reply when a girl, who wore a brown cloak and was standing nearby, approached him. The girl then started crying uncontrollably.

"I knew it all along. You and Montmorency are…"

"This is a misunderstanding, Katie." Guiche cut her off and held her by the shoulders. "The only person I hold in my heart is you, Katie. Only you."

That is when Montmorency, a blond girl, appeared nearby and saw how Guiche and Katie were doing. Guiche noticed her sudden presence and quickly pulled out her hands from Katie's shoulders.

"Oh, Montmorency. I didn't see you there. This is a misunderstanding. I was just…"

"What do you mean this is a misunderstanding ? I thought we're lovers."

"This is interesting. This is not going to end well for you, huh Guiche ?" 1337 mused.

Montmorency's dark aura is flaring out of her as Guiche tries to calm her down. She then growls as she approaches Guiche.

"YOU TWO-TIMING JERK !" A bitch slap came with Montmorency's outburst. The next one followed from Katie to Guiche's other cheek. Both girls left with the boys laughing at Guiche's swollen face. But the one who was having a laughter was 1337.

"Haha you got owned. By two girls no less. That is just pathetic."

"Thanks to you, familiar. With you thoughtlessly picking up that bottle of perfume, the hearts of two girls have been broken. How will you take responsibility ?"

1337 turned to him with his body straighten up to his full height, towering over the boy. Guiche unconsciously took a step back as 1337 gave him an almost lethal dose of the awesome Spartan stare.

"Why should I care when you're a two-timer and being too pathetic to not take care of the problems that came with it ?"

The boys at the table then burst out laughing.

"Exactly, Guiche. It is your fault."

Guiche's face was red from the embarrassment and anger.

"Listen, filthy familiar ! When you put that bottle of perfume on the table, I pretended not to know anything, didn't I ? Why didn't you just play along ?"

"Why should I ? If you are too pathetic to take care of your own mess then you deserved to get slapped."

"How dare you ! Do you know who I am ? And who the hell are you to speak to me like that ?"

"I can give a rat's fart to care who you are. I'm the awesome Spartan, one of the strongest warriors ever existed. And also Miss Valliere's familiar for that matter."

"Very well. I challenge you to a duel." Guiche then pointed his rose at him.

The other students gasped and it happened just in time for Louise to enter the scene. Louise was looking for her familiar when she heard some kind of argument. She then saw her familiar, with his arms crossed over his chest, having a debate with Guiche, and it was not looking good. She hurried to her familiar and to find out what was the commotion.

"Are you even sure you can ? I am known for my strength, even among my fellow kind I am one of the strongest."

"How amusing." Guiche snapped. "Then meet me at the Vestri Court. I will be waiting there."

Guiche then left the scene and the other students follow him to wait for the duel. Louise quickly approached her familiar and confronted him.

"Are you crazy ? You just angered a noble."

"So what ?"

"Apologize to him. Or else you will be killed. It is not too late now, you can still go and say sorry."

"Say sorry or get killed huh ?" 1337 put a hand to where his chin supposed to be and rubbed it. "Nah I'm good."

"Haven't you listened to me ? You will die !"

"You have no idea how many time I faced death. But I'm too awesome to die. What can a kid do ?"

"He is a mage, he can use magic."

"Am I supposed to be afraid ?"

"Yes." Louise just nodded.

"Show me the way to this Vestri Court."

"Only if you promised to apologize to Guiche."

"I promised I will not kill the fag. Now if you don't lead the way I'll find someone who can."

"Pff, fine." Louise just grudgingly accepted and lead him to the assigned place, no doubt believed that she was leading him to his impending doom. If only had she known how a Spartan fought.

-Vestri Court-

A crowd of students encircled the so called arena. Most of them were cheering for Guiche as he entered the ring, and he was really enjoying the attention.

"Do your best, Guiche !" Some random girl shouted.

Guiche smiled at that girl when some students begin to part way for the armored familiar. Guiche stared at the familiar who was standing with his arms crossed before taunting him.

"Glad you came, familiar." He said with great confidence. "As tradition we should introduce ourselves before the duel. My name is Guiche de Gramont also known as Guiche the Bronze."

"And today you face the awesome Spartan, call sign 1337, one of the strongest warriors ever existed."

"I thought you've already wet yourself inside that hulking armor of yours."

"Taunting me will not help. Save your breath to say your last wish. I'll bet my awesomeness to ensure that wish to be carried out. You know what, because you are a kid, I'll give you a handicap. I'll fight you bare handed."

The other students laughed from the familiar's threat. Guiche merely smirked and readied his rose, which appeared to be a wand.

"Very well." He released a rose petal that touched the ground. The dirt crumble and a female armored being rose from the ground, armed with a lance. "Here your opponent, a bronze golem, one of my Valkyrie warriors. I hope you're ready, familiar."

1337 looked at the golem and wasn't fazed by its appearance. Even an Elite looked more intimidating. Since he was in world where magic was the norm, he readied himself to expect something to pop out from nowhere. To the eyes of the Spartan, the golem was nothing but a moving tin can. 1337 just motioned with his forefinger, signaling Guiche to go first.

"You're dead, familiar." Guiche smirked. A wave with his wand to order the golem to attack. The golem lauched towards 1337, who still stood still. The golem thrusted its spear straight to where his heart should be, aiming for the kill. The attack connected but much to everyone's surprise the attack didn't even make a dent on the MJOLNIR armor.

Inside his head, the HUD indicated that the attack was only a few Newton of force which was too weak to even let the armor activated its energy shield.

"Is that all?" He asked mockingly. "What a pathetic attempt to scratch my armor."

Louise was quite surprised from what she saw. "What is he? He just survived an attack from a golem which is enough to pierce a human body." She thought. Her familiar didn't even move and accepted the golem's attack like a fly just crashed into him. Guiche didn't like what he saw and ordered the golem to attack again. The golem obliged and launched multiple thrusts toward the Spartan, but the attack never came. Before the golem could finish its attack, 1337 already had its spear in his right hand. The golem tried to yank its weapon back, only to get itself yanked toward the Spartan. 1337 just use the back of his left hand, which was glowing with the runes much to his surprise, to slap the golem in the face, break off the neck of the golem. Its head rolled toward Guiche, and looked at its master with its lifeless eyes before crumbling to dust, just like its body.

The crowd was in shock to look at the familiar's strength. One thing was sure, if a slap could decapitate a golem, what would that do to a human, they all thought, and shivered in horror, not really wanting to know. Guiche was of course stricken by the strength of the Spartan, but he was a mage and a noble for Brimir's sake. He would not have himself beaten by a mere plebeian. Quickly he recovered from his mental shock, and waved his wands again. Three more petals vanished and three more golems appeared, each armed with lance, swords and shields, with slightly thicker armor. But none of it would matter to the Spartan. Motioned with his finger again, 1337 mocked Guiche.

"Come on boy, I'll give ya one more time to attack."

With that, Guiche motioned the golems to attack at once. The first golem thrusts its lance towards the Spartan, again, only to have its weapon swatted aside. 1337 quickly gave it a punch to the mid-section, broke the stomach completely as the golem turned to dust. The other golems took the chance to attack 1337 from behind, but the Spartan's reflex was way faster, as he spun around and did a round house kick to the golem from the right, and the poor tin can was embedded in the castle's outer wall, leaving a humanoid mark before crumble to dust. As 1337 turned to the left and caught the coming sword between his fingers, and shattered it with a flick of his wrist. The golem, now unarmed, tried to attack 1337 with its punches. And of course, said punches never connected. 1337 took hold of its arms, and tore it out the sockets, and beat the head to pieces with the broken arms in one move.

Everyone was in fear and some of them are trembling as the sight before, but if anyone of them was truly feeling fear is no other than Guiche de Gramont.

"Who are you, what are you !" Guiche screamed in pure horror.

"I. Am. The. Awesome. Spartan." 1337 emphasized on every word.

Guiche was visibly shaken and was sweating profusely. He summoned another set of golems, this time there were six of them and quickly ordered them to attack. The golems launched themselves at the Spartan, five of them cling onto his body to held him down, while the sixth one launched its sword at 1337's throat. Laughing loudly, 1337 arched his head back and just in time, head butted the sword with full force, shattered the blade completely, and threw the golems forward with the move.

The Spartan moved down and lifted the two golems, who were still clinging to his feet, and smashed their heads against each other, turned them to dust. The other golems quickly stood up, only to get crushed down by 1337's feet. Slowly, 1337 walked up to Guiche.

"I offer you a choice kid. Bow down in defeat before the awesome Spartan, or we will see how many petals you have left till your life runs out."

"Never !" Guiche defiantly yelled and waved his wand once more.

"Good ! You never give up, just like me. But be known, stubbornness can get you killed."

In a speed that no one can see but a blur, the golems were crushed, and in the middle of the carnage, stood 1337. Everyone was surprised to see the Spartan move at a speed no one could think that was possible with the heavy armor. But before Guiche could make another move, 1337 was already next to him, twisted Guiche's arm backward and wrenched the wand out of his hand. The rose snapped like a dry twig under the Spartan's armored feet.

"Do you forfeit ?" 1337 asked in an ice cold voice.

"Yes please don't kill me." Guiche yelped in pain as he nearly wet himself.

"If I wanted to kill you then you would be dead before you can use that twig. Now someone get him out of my sight." 1337 said as he dropped Guiche to the ground.

The crowd was still silent as the duel had ended. No one could believe that the Spartan was able to defeat Guiche, let alone bare handed. Even more so that this was the familiar of Louise the Zero, no less, who was known for her talent of get nothing done, and yet possessed such powerful familiar. Guiche was now able to breathe normally and looked up to the Spartan.

"Thank you for sparing my life." He muttered.

"I have no intention to kill you, kid." 1337 said, and decided to give a piece of advice he picked up in one of the marines' magazines. "But you really need to be more honest in the relationship. Lies and deception is no way to start a relationship."

"Thank you for the wise words, Spartan. I think I need to make up with my love." Guiche said and looked at Montmorency who approached him. 1337 decided to leave and gave the two lovebirds some privacy.

"Alright people. Show is over." 1337 shouted. "Back to your class. Remember, I accept any challenge."

He was about to leave the Vestri Court when Louise walked up to him.

"You moron ! You worried me back there !" Louise yelled.

"Your worries are not needed, Miss Valliere. I told you I am too awesome to die. But your concerns are much appreciated." He laughed.

"Who said I was worried ?" Louise sputtered and turned red in embarrassment.

"Yeah whatever, only you know the truth. Now off to your classes, I need to do something. I'll be back for dinner."

And with that, he walked Louise to her class, and then was off to the shed, to rest out after his little exercise with Guiche.

**Author's note : So yeah, that's about it. I let 1337 to fight bare hand because from what I saw in the Odd One Out episode, it seems to be his choice of fighting since he threw the Assault Rifle away to engage in hand to hand combat. Anyway, enjoy. You want more to read, I want more reviews. You know what to do.**


	3. Gandalfr revealed

**Author's note : So yeah, can's stop the imagination flow, so here is the chapter 3. I don't use a disclaimer, that thing is useless anyway. We all know I'll never own Halo and/or FoZ.**

**Thank you, Igfry, DJBingo, karthik9, Half demon spartan, Kamigawa Nagamaki, Orichigin and Ghost iv for your reviews. **

**To Kamigawa Nagamaki : Thanks for the criticsm, really. But I need to point out that it seems that 1337 only felt off the pelicans or any kind of air transportations, and weird shits happen to him all the time, but I think that was only served as comedic relief, which I like to do as well, but this chapter, I want to show a serious side of 1337, hope y'all don't mind.**

**Right, on with chapter 3.**

-Headmaster's office-

"What do you think about him ?" The old man asked.

"Who do you refer to, Headmaster ?" Colbert asked.

"The familiar of miss Valliere is certainly a magnificient familiar, don't you think so ?"

"That much is true, however, we know little about this Spartan, as he called himself."

"I assume that you did some research about him, yes ?" The old man asked as he stroked his beard.

"Yes. None of our books in the library have any information about the being named "Spartan", nor any idea what his armor is, as none of them fits the description. Furthermore, he possessed weapons of unknown origins, and we have yet to see how powerful they are." Taking his breath, Colbert continued. "However, I did found out that the runes on his hands are the runes of Gandalfr."

This made the old man's eyes went wide.

"So that means that…"

"Yes, the probability is very high. Should we contact the palace ?"

"No. Those fools in the palace will make a fuss out of it, and that is the last thing we need. Please mister Colbert, call this Spartan, we need to speak with him."

"What about miss Valliere ?"

"It's better to not let her know. She will be safer without this knowledge."

"If you want so." Colbert said as he left the office.

-The Shed-

1337 was sleeping when he felt a presence near him. Years of training had taught him how to sleep with his guard on. Chief Mendez had them awaken with stunning rod, and it wasn't pleasant, but it sure did the job. And now 1337 was lying in a corner of the shed, his M90 in his hands and pointed it at the door. Of course, no one in this school would be a problem to him, however he did it out a force of habits.

Three knocks rang against the door as a female voice called out.

"Spartan ? Are you there ?"

"Siesta ?" 1337 called out as he recognized the voice.

"Yes, I am sent to fetch you. Headmaster Osmond wants to see you."

"Okay, I'll be there in a moment."

As 1337 stood up high enough to move around without getting his head banged against the ceiling, he grabbed the energy sword and energy shield, his pack of pills, ammo and batteries, and finally with the M90 strapped on his back, he opened the door.

"Lead the way." He told the maid.

-Headmaster's office-

He met Colbert on the way to the tower, where the Headmaster's office was located and parted way with Siesta as he followed Colbert to the office. He waited outside with Colbert as the professor knocked on the door and wait for the answer.

"Come in." A man said.

As 1337 walked in, he saw the oldest man he'd ever seen, and yet there is a glint of youth in his eyes.

"Miss Longueville, would you please to wait outside." He gestured toward his secretary, a young glassed woman with green hair. "Not that I don't trust you but I want you to make sure that no one disturb us."

The woman just stood up and gave them a bow before leaving the room.

"Please sit down." The Headmaster motioned toward a chair before him.

"I prefer to stand." 1337 shook his head. "Besides, that chair may not be able to hold me."

"If you want so." Osmand said as he lit his pipe.

"So you want to see me ?" 1337 asked.

"Yes. Since it is the first time in Tristain history a mage had summoned a human, if that's what you are, as a familiar. So of course, we have questions for you."

"I will answer them, as much as I can, but I will not reveal secrets that I can't tell."

"Very well, first question. Who are you exactly ?"

"Spartan 1337." 1337 answered without his normal joking tone. Through all the years in his duty, he learned to respect the authority as a soldier, and this man, as a Headmaster, he certainly had some authority.

"Is the word "Spartan" your name or a title ? And what does 1337 mean ?" Colbert asked.

"There is a story to this, do you want to hear it ?"

"Please proceed." Osmond said, curious about the Spartan's origins.

"The term Spartan was first given to the warriors of Sparta, a country in my homeland. Spartans are the most battle hardened warriors my people had ever known. As time went, the Spartans no longer existed, but their legacy continued. The term Spartan is given only to the best warriors who had proved to be worthy equal to the old Spartans. Therefore, Spartan is my title."

"What about 1337 ?"

"That is my number. Each Spartan is given a number, select randomly to replace their names."

"Why would you replace your name ? What are your real name then ?"

"That is another very long story, which involved a very difficult past. Perhaps I will tell you one day, but then again I perhaps will not, as the story involved secrets which I have sworn to protect. As for my name, I have forgotten it long ago once I entered the Spartan army.

"There are more of you ?"

"Yes. There are a selected few of us. But I'm the only one in this planet."

"Did your brethren pass away ?" Osmond asked.

"No. As I said, I am the only one in THIS planet." 1337 emphasized ton the word.

"Do you mean that…?"

"Yes. I am from a different planet, one far away from the stars, beyond this galaxy."

"I find it hard to believe, but if this is true, then what should we do about you ?"

"For the moment, I will stay as miss Valliere's familiar, until I find a mean to get back to my world."

"How do you plan to do that ?"

"I don't know, but I will figure a way to get home, as always." 1337 sighed.

"Very well. No matter what you said is the truth or not, you are here now and there is nothing we can do about this. As for the real reason about this conversation, is that we found out that you are the Gandalfr."

"So what is Gandalfr ?"

"Gandalfr is the legendary familiar of our founder Brimir, named as the Left Hand of God. The runes on your hand is the same as the previous familiar had, and on the left hand as well, as indicated by the title."

"So ? What do you want me to do ?" 1337 asked.

"We believe that because you are Gandalfr, then your master, miss Valliere, is a Void mage, a very powerful form of magic in this world. Her importance can't be left unsecured, and as a familiar it's your job to protect her, which no doubt that is what you already do."

"Yes, but she can be pain sometimes." This earned a chuckle from both old men. "But yes, I'll protect her, as long as she treats me as an equal and not some animal. Anything I need to know ?"

"Yes. As Gandalfr, the runes grants you power." Colbert spoke. "According to the books, it glows whenever you use a weapon, grant you immediate knowledge about the weapon and the way to use it."

"I am well versed in all forms of combat, but it never hurt to learn some more. Anything else ?"

"The runes only grants you power for weapons that are made with the intentions to be used as a weapon. Things that look like weapon but are intended to be used for other purposes will not be counted as a weapon, so keep that in mind."

"It can be useful." 1337 thought.

"One last question. I have observed your duel with mister Gramont yesterday, how one-sided it may be, and I noticed that your left hand glowed despise not wielding any weapon. Can you perhaps explain why ?"

"Hm." 1337 was in deep thought. "Perhaps it was due to my armor, or myself being a Spartan. You see, as a Spartan, I myself was viewed as a living weapon, made to fight. Furthermore my armor is not only used for protection, but also as a part of myself, thus in essence a weapon as well."

"That explained a lot. One last thing." Osmond spoke. "Louise doesn't know that she is a Void mage, and I want to keep it that way."

"Very well. But I want to have a stone or metal bed in miss Valiiere's room. I refused to sleep on the ground like a dog."

"It shall be done. I shall have one of my Earth mage finish it before tonight. Anything you require ?" Osmond asked and smoked his pipe again.

"No, that's all. I shall continue my duty to protect miss Valliere, but you should also need to know, if she continues to treat me like dirt, she will have to deal with the consequences. She is your student, do something about it."

"Of course, a fair trade keeps both parties satisfied, right ? I shall reprimand her for her actions, however, as a Headmaster, I will also deal with those who harm my students. Are we clear ?"

"Yes. Now if you excuse me." 1337 saluted as he walked away.

"A remarkable man, isn't he ?" Osmond asked as he smoked from his pipe.

"Indeed he is." Colbert said.

-Tristain Academy of Magic-

It was already dark when 1337 was done with the Headmaster. Looking at the twin moons, he sighed again. As far as he knew, none of the known planets in UNSC data had two moons, and a medieval planet where magic existed. Just how far did he go ? The map indicated that there is a large group of people inside the great hall. He figured that it would be time for dinner. He wasn't really hungry, but decided to check on his 'master'. The word still left a weird taste in his mouth. And of course he would be too awesome to call someone master. The only civilian he would ever take order from is dr. Halsey.

He found Louise sitting on the same place during breakfast. Ignoring all the stares he got, he walked next to her and stood there.

"Here is your dinner." Louise pointed at a plate, this time on the table, of food to him without looking up. The plate was filled with meat, 1337 didn't know what kind but it smelled like chicken, some mushrooms and finally some potatoes.

"Why so generous ?" He asked.

"Not from me. It's from Guiche himself." 1337 just frowned beneath his helmet. "He said as thanks for sparing his life and help him with his romance, or whatever you did." Louise continued before eating her food.

"Okay." 1337 picked up the plate and started to walked outside, when Louise called.

"Why don't you sit down ?" she asked.

"It seems that you started to treat me like an equal. That's good, but I can't sit down. The bench will just not hold my weight. Call me when you need me."

And with that, 1337 walked outside, and sat on the fountain to finish his meal. It was good, and 1337 appreciated that. As a Spartan, all he ever had was MREs and pills, so a hot meal like this was a real royal treat to him. He made a mental note to thank whoever had made this, also Guiche. He ate it as he gazed upon the sky. It was a clear night, and he could see the stars and the two giant moons on the black sky. He wondered if they would actually be searching for him. Possibly not, but dr. Halsey would pull some strings. However, he knew he can't depend on anyone else, so he better start looking for a mean. For the meantime, he would stay here and ask the Headmaster if he can send him back by magic, though he wouldn't bet his life on things of unknown origins.

As he finished the meal, he stood up and brought the dish to the kitchen. On his way there, he met Siesta, who was rolling a huge barrel, which was made out of wood, held in place by iron rings around it.

"Hey Siesta, what are you doing ?" He asked as he approached her.

"Good evening Spartan." The maid smiled. "I was told to dispose of this barrel."

1337 looked at the barrel and an idea came up to him. Actually, the idea was old, and no one on his homeland would do that, since technology was sufficient, but here, he could make it work with this.

"I can have it ?" He asked the maid.

"Yes, since it wasn't of much use any way. But may ask why ?"

"I have an idea, and I need this barrel. Also I need a few solid stones, a bucket and some fire woods. Can you tell me where I can gather the required items ?"

"Well, I can gather these from the kitchen, but what are you planning exactly ?" Siesta asked.

"You will see." 1337 said as he gave his plate to Siesta, and put the giant barrel to the side of the wall with much ease, much to the surprise of the maid. Siesta started picking woods at the kitchen, and 1337 picked up a few solid rocks and put them in a bucket.

After they gathered enough fire woods, 1337 place them inside the stone circle that he made, and put the barrel above them. Then, he proceeded to fill the barrel with water till it was half full. Finally, 1337 activated the Energy sword, much to the amazement of the girl, swiped them against the woods, and in no time, he had a fire blazing.

And now he started to taking off his armor, starting with his helmet. Siesta, who had never seen his face before, was startled to see his face under the helmet. She started to blush, but 1337 continued to remove his armor. First he took off the gauntlets and the boots, then the shoulder, thighs and arms plates, then finally his chest armor and greave. He was now in his black undersuit, which he also removed, and now wearing only a black boxer.

Siesta was blushing furiously as she saw the Spartan's body. His body was chiseled, leaving no ounce of fat as the body was practically packed in muscle. There were scars running through his body, leaving the impression of a war veteran. Little did she know that these scars actually came from the unfortunate times that he felt off the ships on not very comfortable positions. 1337 took his armor aside and used the armor as a step stone to walk in the barrel, but it was unbalanced as he tripped and dived in the barrel head first.

Siesta, hearing the splash, was awoken from her daydreaming which involved one of her novels with images of birds and bees flying around, and rushed off to the Spartan. But she sighed and laughed a little as she saw his head came up.

"Glad you are fine Spartan. However, I must ask that, are you trying to cook yourself ?" she asked after regaining her composure.

"No Siesta, I have no intention to boil myself and become a steamed meat ball." He chuckled. "This is what we called a hot tub back in my home land. It is used as a form of bath and relaxation."

"Can I join in ?" The question left the Spartan a bit off guard. Sure he had seen naked women before, but it doesn't mean he wasn't affected by it. His sex drive was partially suppressed, but he can still feel like any normal man would.

"Do you have any kind of undergarments with you ?" He asked, as this was the only way he wouldn't fell awkward about having a naked girl join him in bath, and still didn't have to flatly refused her.

"Yes." The maid just shyly nodded. 1337 turned away as she started to undress herself. A wave of water came to him, and he knew that Siesta had entered the tub. Turning to the right, he saw that she was wearing a simple white cloth wrapping around her bust with matching underwear. 1337 felt more at ease now since she wasn't naked, but some part of him felt a bit disappointed, though he didn't know why.

"This is indeed relaxing." Siesta said as she looked up at the sky.

"Yes it is." The Spartan said, followed her gaze.

"Can you tell me more about yourself, Spartan ?"

"I guess I can. But there is a story to it, do you want to hear it ?"

"I have done all my duty for the day, so yes I have time." Siesta smiled.

"Well, I wasn't always called a Spartan, though I no longer remember my name. The name Spartan is given to the warriors who have proven to be the best, and I was one of them. My number is 1337, though it had no actual meaning beside a number." He waited for Siesta to follow his words before he continued. "Almost my entire life I was known as a Spartan. As you know, I was summoned by miss Valliere, and become her familiar. However, I was gone away from my homeland, with no mean to get home, so I decided to stay as her familiar until I find a way to go back. That was the shortest version of my story. I apologize that I can't tell you more than this, since it involves things of sensitive natures that I have no rights to say."

"I understand and respect that, Spartan." Siesta smiled.

"Thank you."

Silence followed as they sat there under the starry sky, enjoying the scene until the fire died out. Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by a certain red haired mage above her room, and a pink shorty peeping around the corner. But another figured was hidden under a cloak, looking at the Spartan the whole time before this person vanished out of sight.

Siesta got out first and get dressed, wished him good night before left off to the servants' quarter. 1337 stayed behind, and used a portion of the water to kill the fire. The rest he used it to clean the MJOLNIR armor, scrapping off dirts out of the chinks in his armor, and gave it a new glance. Though it was not as good as the maintenance routine by the UNSC, 1337 thought that he did well considering he only had water to use. He walked around the school with his armor back on, and poured the water out of the barrel to each of the trees that grew wound the school perimeter. When he was done, he put the barrel near the shed and head off to the dorm.

-Louise's room-

He opened the wooden door only to find Louise sitting on her bed, fuming and pouting in annoyance. And apparently that was directed at him as she immediately started to yell at him when he showed up.

"What in the name of the founder was you doing with that maid ? Getting all naked and intimate like that ?"

"For your information we weren't naked. And we were doing nothing but having a bath and talked together." 1337 sighed. "Why should you care anyway ?"

"Because I am your master that's why."

"No you are just a person who needed my protection. And what I do with my life is none of your concern."

"Fine. Do it, go and get intimate with that maid. I just don't care anymore." Louise just pouted and laid on her bed. She snapped her finger and the lights went out. Having a night vision, 1337 had no problem finding the stone bed next to her bed. But somehow he still tripped and felt head first on the stone slab. Thanks to his awesome reflex he caught himself with his hands before his head hit the stone. Slowly, I placed himself on the bed.

"Hey miss Valliere. Are you awake ?" He asked in a soft voice.

"Why aren't you asleep ?" Her voice returned with annoyance.

"I want to ask if we have any free day. I want to go to the nearest blacksmith to get some equipment."

"Yes, tomorrow is day of the Void. We can go then."

"Thank you. Now let's sleep. Tomorrow we go." His voice soothed her anger, something which Louise wondered why. Perhaps it was because he said "thank you" to her for the first time. But it wouldn't matter to her. She was a noble, it was natural to a plebeian to be thankful to have her as master. With this thought in mind, she started to sleep.

**Author's note : That's it for now people. There wasn't much actions or something. The hot tub scene wasn't used much in any cross fic, so I decided to do one. If you think Louise was a bit snobbish, tell me I will fix that. **

**I also like to have 1337 x Siesta as main pairing, though perhaps there will be harem in the long run as a comedic relief. Tell me what you like people, by reviewing.**


	4. The Sword and the Maid

**Author's note : Yeah I'm back. Here is chapter 4.**

-Tristain Academy of Magic-

It was still early in the morning when 1337 woke up. The HUD registered the time as 6 AM. Slowly, 1337 stood up from his stone bed. There was not much in his bed, except a bundle of rags he used as a pillow and a large sheet made of cloth as cover. But still, better than the hay on the floor, which itched, and 1337 didn't think that it was amusing to have to scratch his neck every now and then so often. He decided to let Louise sleep and went downstairs for a few running laps around school.

Most of the students were awoken by this time, as they were leaving the school by horse carriages. He also spotted Siesta moving her trunk into one of the smaller carriage. He waved to her and she waved back. Siesta motioned the rider to wait for a while and walked toward the Spartan.

"Hey, Siesta, you leaving for day of Void ?" 1337 asked.

"Yes." She smiled, though with years of serving through many diplomatic missions, 1337 knew that the smiled was forced.

"Something wrong ? You know you can always tell me right ?" He told her.

"No, nothing. Enjoy your day of Void." She smiled again and left. 1337 followed her to the gate and saw her off. One thing he knew was that Siesta was lying, and he would find out. But for now, he needed to get to town for some equipment. As he walked up the dorm, he found Louise already awoken and dressed. They both head down for breakfast, and since there weren't much people around, some of the staff gave the Spartan a noble's meal. Ever since the day he had defeated Guiche in a duel, words had been spreading around and he was considered somewhat a hero by the common folks around the castle. After they finished the meal, both went to the gate as a horse carriage was already waiting for them.

"How fast can these go ?" 1337 asked as he pointed at the horses.

"From here to the town will take about three hours walking and about one hour by horse." Louise answered.

"Too long." 1337 shook his head and lifted Louise up bridal style, ignoring her protests. "Hang on, I'm going on full speed."

And then he took off, leaving the horse rider startled. A normal Spartan can run at 60 kilometers per hours, but 1337 can run at 80 with full armor, and Louise weighted nothing more than a little package to him. As for Louise, she was amazed and dizzy at the same time. Amazed by the fact that despise his heavy looking armor, the Spartan can run this fast. Dizzy, since she never rode something this fast before. The motion tracker recognized a large unit coming from behind him. As he turned around, he saw that the blue dragon Sylphid was flying toward the town as well, carrying no doubt its master for the day of Void, he thought.

-Tristain Town-

Only a moment later, he arrived at the town, and slowed down before reaching town's border. He let Louise down, but after he saw her still dizzy and nearly tripped at her feet, he sighed and picked her up again, and walked at a much slower speed. Following her direction, he avoided the crowd and the town's narrow streets, and walked to a building with a sign of a wooden sword out of the door, indicating that this was a blacksmith. He let Louise down before walking in, crouching at the door to fit through.

"Ah a noble." A middle aged man greeted her after they entered the shop. "Yes miss, welcome to the finest blacksmith shop in Tristain. What can I do for you ?"

"We are looking for a sword." Louise told the man.

"Yes of course, what else would you need from a blacksmith ? I assume that the armored man there is the one who need a sword ?" Louise just nodded.

"Very well, please wait here." He returned with an expensive looking sword, made out of apparently gold, with around four and a half feet in length. The handle was made for two-handed wielding and was lavishly decorated with jewels. A mirror-like blade reflected light with an illuminating glow. Anyone could look at it and say it was a very expensive blade. "This is the best thing I have. Rather than say it's for nobles, it's more like something nobles wish they can wear on their waists, but that's something reserved for very strong men. If not, wearing it on the back isn't half bad."

"It is beautiful." Louise exclaimed.

"Yes it is. It's made by the famous Germanian alchemist Lord Shupei. It can cut through metal like butter because of the magic infused in it ! See this inscription here ? It is magic, so it's much stronger than it looks. For a simple 3000 gold it is yours."

"What ? 3000 gold ?" Louise almost yelled. "You can buy a mansion with that."

"Yes, but it is worth it." The man told her.

"That sword is just as much worth as the dirt on my soles." 1337 spoke for the first time since he entered the shop. He chose not to talk, but started to use his HUD to scan the sword first after the man brought it out. "The blade is made of gold, so it is weak in combat, as gold is more used in jewelry for their flexibility, and not so hard as iron. Furthermore, that thing may be fancy, but the jewels are of no use in combat, and will only get in the way. The blade itself is unbalanced, weighed too much on the right side. And lastly, the sword is not even made of solid gold, but a slab of bronze with a thin layer of gold on the outside."

Both the blacksmith and Louise was speechless, until a voice rang around the corner.

"Spoken like a true warrior. I like that. Het shopkeeper, it seems like your scheme is found out again."

1337 turned around only to find the sound coming from an old sword lying together with other junk of a weapon.

"Who is there ?" 1337 asked.

"It's me, the awesome legendary sword Derflinger. Pleased to meet you, warrior."

"A talking sword ?" 1337 thought, but then again, he had seen too many weird stuffs on this planet, so this really didn't surprise him anymore.

"The awesome Spartan 1337, nice to be of acquaintance." He said as he pulled Derflinger out. He gave it few solid swings, and found the weapon easy to be used, and very balanced. It also was edged on only one side. It could easily be used for a non-lethal strike if it came to it. It was rusted, but only on the outside. A bit of maintenance and it will be as good as new. Louise was the first one who spoke again.

"Could it be…that this is a sentient sword?" asked Louise.

"That's right, lady. It's a sentient, magical, intelligent sword." The blacksmith sighed, hoping the noble girl wouldn't prosecute him of selling a hoax. "I wonder what kind of mage could make a sword speak… but it's got a rotten tongue, always arguing with my customers. Hey, Derf ! Keep up the insolence and I'll ask this noble here to melt you !"

"Sounds good to me ! I'd like to see you try it! I'm kinda tired of this world. I'd love to be melted down !" The sword defiantly answered.

"That would be such a waste." 1337 said. "Louise, I'd like to buy him."

"For 100 gold he is yours." The blacksmith said.

"It is rather cheap." Louise said. "But if Spartan wants it, then let it be so."

She handed the money to the man and left.

"Well, nice to meet ya, partner." Derf told Spartan.

"It would seem that this is the beginning of a new friendship." 1337 told Derf. "I hope we can have some awesome missions together. You are a fine partner."

"Because I am awesome."

"Me too." They both laughed and 1337 strapped Derf on his back, the magnet immediately held the sword in its place. The Spartan carried Louise again and began to run back to the castle at full speed. Two figures watched Louise and Zero leave the weapons shop, Kirche and Tabitha. Kirche watched the two from the shadows of the streets, and when they were gone, she revealed herself. "Louise the Zero, trying to warm your relationship with Spartan with a sword, huh ? Well he's my prey !" Kirche licked her lips sensually. Tabitha was reading as usual. Sylphid circled around the skies above them. They had followed the two here soon after they'd spotted them.

Kirche waited for them to walk far away, and immediately ran into the weapons shop. The shopkeeper stared at Kirche as if he couldn't believe it.

"Whoa, another noble ? What the hell is going on today ?" He thought.

"Hey there, boss." Kirche played with her hair, a charming smile in her lips. The shopkeeper's face turned deep red under the sudden seduction.

"Do you happen to know what that noble girl bought just a moment ago ?"

"A sword, she bought a sword." He stammered.

"I see, so she did get him a sword, what kind of sword?"

"A dirty and rusty one. I sold it for 100 gold."

"Why ?"

"Because the armored man wanted it I suppose."

Kirche laughed, coming to her own conclusion. "She went broke ! Vallière ! Your Duke's house will cry for this !"

"Uh, so is my lady here to buy a sword, too ?" The shopkeeper perked up, not willing to let go of the chance. This noble looked racked and rich compared to that tiny one.

"Hmm, show me your best."

The man walked inside, brushing his hands in excitement. He returned, of course, with the broadsword he just showed to Louise.

"Ah, a very well-made sword!" Kirche said.

"You have a good eye, my lady. That noble not so long ago had a servant that really wanted this one, but it's too much for them." He lied smoothly.

"Is that so ?" The noble's servant ? So the Spartan wants this !"

"Of course, this sword is made by the famous Germanian alchemist Lord Shupei after all. It can cut through metal like butter because of the magic infused in it ! See this inscription here ?" The shopkeeper repeated what he had said before.

Kirche nodded. "How much ?"

The shopkeeper asked for more, seeing how Kirche looked a lot richer, "Hmm, for new gold coins, 4500."

"Hey that's a bit pricey." Kirche frowned.

"Well great swords need to be paid for their worth, you know ?"

Kirche thought for a while, slowly moving her body towards the shopkeeper.

"Boss, isn't this just a bit expensive?" Upon being caressed at the chin, the salesman suddenly lost his breath. Temptations filled in his mind.

"Uh… but… great swords are…"

Kirche sat on the counter, raising her left thigh. "Isn't the price a bit too high ?" She slowly raised her left foot onto the counter, saying in a sweet honey voice. The salesman's eyes irresistibly stared at her thighs.

"Th-that's right… then… 4000 new gold…"

Kirche raised her thigh further so that he could almost see in between them.

"Ah… no, 3000 would do…"

"It's getting hot in here…" Kirche ignored him, only opening her shirt's buttons. "I feel really hot in here. Help me take off my shirt, please…" She threw her most attractive expression at him.

"Ah… I got it wrong, I got it wrong… it's 2500 !"

Kirche took off one button, and looked up at the shopkeeper.

"1800 ! 1800 is fine !"

Another button, exposing her cleavage. She looked at him again.

"Hey, 1600 will do !"

Kirche stopped with her buttons, and turned her attention to her skirt instead, raising it just so little. The man looked like he could not take any more.

"How does 1000 sound ?" she suggested, slowly lifting her skirt more. He looked like he was about to hyperventilate. And then she stopped. His rapid breathing turned to a sorrowful moan.

"Oh… ohhhhh…"

Kirche straightened herself out, and asked again, "1000."

"Oh ! 1000 will be fine !"

Kirche stepped down from the counter, quickly wrote a check, and slapped it on the counter.

"Bought!" She then picked up the sword and left the shop, leaving the salesman to stare at her check.

-Tristain Academy of Magic-

When he was back, he let Louise alone to let her do whatever rich noble kids do, and left to scrap the rust off Derf. He sat at the fountain as he started to splash water on the blade, and with a rough cloth, he slowly started to scrap the rust off. The process didn't take too long, and he was done by noon. He dried the sword and had it strapped on his back again. Derflinger was happy to have his body cleaned, thanked the Spartan, and started to whistle a simple tone, which was quite easy to listen to.

He walked to the kitchen, and wanted to ask for some lunch, hoping to find out what happened to Siesta as well. He found the chef, Marteau, a mustached man, sitting on a table, drinking some wine. He saw the Spartan walking in, and greeted him.

"Hello there Spartan. You have become quite the topic lately."

"Hello. Are you Siesta's boss ?" He asked.

"Yes, the name is Marteau. Siesta told me about you."

"Do you know where she went to ? I saw her this morning, and I don't think she looks well."

"Yes, unfortunately I do." He sighed. "I guess she didn't tell you ?"

"Tell me what ?" 1337 looked at Marteau.

"She has moved on from her service here. She was requested quite specifically by the Count Mott." the chef spat out the name, full of contempt.

"For what ?" 1337 asked. "He is a count right ? He should have plenty servants, why Siesta ?"

"He asked her to be his maid. But as we all know, when a pretty girl is asked for in such a way..." Marteau left the insinuation hanging in the air.

"What ? Why would she accept his offer ?" 1337 demanded.

"She works here because her family needed the money. If they didn't rely on her, it's likely she wouldn't even have worked here." The cook said sadly. "Even more so when count Mott asked for her specifically. Since his influence was greater than most noble around here, there was not much that we could do."

"Where is this Count Mott's property ?" The Spartan asked quietly.

"I don't know. I've never been there before. I simply know him by his reputation, and when he comes to the academy with dispatches directly from the palace. He's quite arrogant with his job." He replied, his voice full of disgust. "He's just the voice of someone else, doing the leg work they don't wanna do. And yet he acted like he is the best of someone else."

"Thank you. I'll be leaving now." 1337 said as he walked out. He had to calm himself. His body was burning up suddenly. He looked down, his rune was glowing. He wandered around a bit, until he found Colbert exiting his small laboratory.

"Ah, Spartan. How are you doing today ?" The kind teacher asked

"I'm fine. Mr. Colbert, can I ask a few questions of you ?"

"Of course. You might not be a student here, but I'm not one to deny knowledge from someone just because they're not a noble."

"I was just wondering if you knew where the property of a Count Mott is."

"Oh, of course. He's a rather prominent figure. Might I ask why you want to know ?"

"Just trying to get the lay of the land. I'd heard he might have something from my home. I'm willing to follow any possible leads." 1337 lied to the old teacher. He felt bad about it, but he needed to do what must be done.

"Ah, I see." Professor Colbert motioned for him to follow him into his lab. "Here is a map I had for all the different alchemy and potion shops around here marked." He picked up a wax pencil, and a few marks were made on the map. "This is the Academy here, and this mark here is the Count's estates."

"Thank you, sir. I just needed to look at the map. No reason to give it to me." 1337 said after imprint the map on his mind. He did not want any evidence leading back to the gentle teacher if things went badly, no improbable that might be, he was not going to take risk.

"Tell me how it goes Spartan." Colbert said kindly as the man left.

-Count Mott's Estate-

1337 was running at full speed now, his anger, though not shown, added more adrenaline to his speed. Of course, as for who he is, the trip wasn't without problem. First he nearly ran through a carriage, but quickly leaped over it just in a nick of time. Then he got to run through a market, trashing some stuffs down as he shouted apologies before he continued to run. Then he fell down a bridge, and had to swim through. Finally he saw a sign with a mansion symbol on it, and some letter that looked like it spelled Mott, so he took his chances. Lucky for him, he was right on track. He slowed down when he arrived at the estate, and calculated how to get in.

"Hey Partner. You're going quite a bit out of your way for this girl. She must be something real special to ya huh ?" He heard Derf say from his back.

"She's someone I will protect." 1337 stated simply.

"If I didn't know better, I would think you're willing to kill in this matter." Derflinger said slowly. When he got no response he said more seriously, "Well, I have to respect a partner with a good heart, and the ideals to go with it. She sounded like someone nice and close to ya, so use me instead of that other weapon you have ! I'll do my part too."

"Thanks." 1337 said to the sword. He supposed he had a partner this time around, even if it wasn't quite the same as an A.I. by the UNSC, Derf was almost an A.I., having his own personality.

"Hey, it's the least I can do. Ya cleaned me up as best ya could, and ya don't ignore me. So why shouldn't I stand with my partner ?" Derflinger said happily.

"You ready Derf ?" He held the sword in his hand.

"As ready as I ever be."

With a simple rush, he quickly knocked the two guards out cold at the gate with a simple strike at their neck, using the blunt side of the sword. Quickly, he moved their bodies out of sight before sneaking his way in, avoiding any of the guards. He overheard some of them that there was a new maid arrived, and no doubt that the Count was going to make her his new mistress.

"That must be Siesta." 1337 thought.

That's when he decided to reveal himself, and before the guards could react, the next thing they saw was a blur before everything went black. 1337 just rushed in and knocked them out cold using a palm strike and the blunt side of Derf. Then he just walked to the heavy wooden door and kicked it open, making the door flew back inside the house and crashed into some of the furniture.

"Whoo ! Now that is what I call an entrance !" Derf said.

A middle aged man was sitting in the middle of the room, quite healthy by the look of his round belly and by the choice of his clothes, 1337 supposed that he must be the Count.

"Are you Count Mott ?" 1337 pointed Derf at him.

"Who are you ?" Mott draw his wand and pointed at the Spartan. "How dare a filthy commoner like you walk in here and threaten me ? Do you even know who I am ?"

"I will assume you are Motty then." 1337 said, leaving Derf cracking in laughter at his choice of name, and count Mott burning red with anger.

"I know there is a new maid that you chose, her name is Siesta. Hand her over, and I will let you live."

"How insolence !" Mott bellowed. "We settle this by duel. The winner takes all. The loser dies."

"What is with you nobles and dueling ?" 1337 sighed as he readied Derf. "I accept the terms. Now let's go !"

-Meanwhile, Tristain Academy of Magic-

Louise sat eating. Something was troubling her. Spartan had been missing all day. She just thought that he was gone off to do whatever Spartans do.

"Did you hear about the maid ?" said one of the young boys to Guiche.

"What maid ?" He asked disinterestedly.

"The pretty busty one."

"What about her ?"

"Apparently old man Mott got his hands on her." He said. "Too bad, she really was pretty. Even if she was just a commoner."

The rest of the sentence was in tones too low for Louise to hear. Suddenly it clicked. She knew the maid that they were talking about. There was only one like that, and she was with the Spartan the night before. She stood up and ran out of the dining hall suddenly. As she ran out the large double doors, she ran into Mr. Colbert.

"Are you alright miss Vallière ?" Colbert asked, noticing the look of distress on her face.

"No ! Have you seen the Spartan ?" She asked, panic in her voice.

"Oh, yes. I talked to him this afternoon. He asked me for a map around the area."

"Where is he?"

"He should be on his way to Count Mott's estate by now. He said that there was an item there that might be related to his home ! Isn't that exciting ?" Mr. Colbert replied, his gentle face smiling.

"Oh no !" She got up started to run.

Mr. Colbert chanted a spell of levitation to stop her. Something was wrong.

"Oh no, what ? Is something the matter ?" He asked.

"The item he was talking about is in fact his friend, who has been taken by Count Mott as his new personal maid. I think Spartan is there to take her back !" She shouted struggling futilely against the spell.

Well I suppose we should stop him. If we go by the sky we can get there faster than he can by foot." He casted a spell and levitated both him and Louise in a wind. Louise looked at the older man, and nodded.

"Thank you." She said before they took off.

-Back at the mansion-

The Count started to chant his spell, however, unexpected from him, the Spartan rushed in a speed that left him looked like a black and green blur. The Count felt a pain from his right hand, as the Spartan struck with Derf, shattered that wand completely, and twisted the Count's wrist with the force of the blow. At the same time, he moved his left hand out and lifted Mott by his windpipe off the ground. He pointed Derf at him and spoke in an emotionless voice.

"I say it again, hand Siesta over." Hearing no answer, he gave some more force on the grip. "Now."

1337 threw the count away, let him crashed in a drawer as Mott choked and gasped for breath. Mott pulled out a bell from his pocket and rang it. In a short moment, a maid ran toward the sound and gasped as she found her master lying in a broken drawer, as well as the present of the giant in a green armor. She quickly helped her master up and let him laid down near the wall. 1337 cleared his throat, and Mott quickly gave the order to the maid to fetch Siesta, as well as her belongings.

At the same time, Louise and Colbert rushed in the mansion, only to find guards lying in a corner next to the gate, as the front door were broken. They hurried inside and found the count resting against the wall, and 1337 standing over him, Derflinger in hand.

"Spartan, stop !" Louise yelled.

"Stop what ? It's over already." He said flatly. "Why are you here by the way ?"

"Because you lied to me Spartan." Colbert said angrily.

"That was for a good cause."

"What good cause ?" He said but then stopped as he saw Siesta appeared from the staircase above him. He sighed and rub his head. "Please, next time you can just tell me and we can think so a solution together, okay ?"

"I make no promises, but I will keep that in mind." 1337 said.

Siesta was confused as she was told by the head maid to pack her stuffs and get downstairs, but followed it anyway. That was it, or dressed in a skimpy maid uniform as an attraction for count Mott. But it all cleared up to her as she saw the Spartan standing in the hall, towering over the fat lump of the Count. She jumped at him and pulled him in a tight hug, tears in her eyes but a smile on her face.

1337 was a bit startled by this, but he moved his hands to her hips and hugged her back anyway. He didn't know why he did that, but some part of his instinct told him to. But he pulled away after a quick moment as he felt an intensified glare at the back of his head. He groaned inwardly as he knew whose glare it was. Looking at count Mott, he crouched down and looked the man in the face.

"So Motty." This made the people in the room chuckled a bit. "Winner takes all, loser dies. Those are your words, aren't they ?"

The Count looked at him with fearful eyes, and 1337 enjoyed it a bit.

"Should I abide the duel ? Your house, your rules, right ?" The Spartan chuckled as he saw the Count soiled his pants as he put the sword at his neck. "Or maybe I shall be generous, but do you want my mercy or not, is a different question."

The Count just bowed his head down at this, as a sign of defeat.

"Good. I will take all the gold you have in the house, in turn for your life. Sound like a fair deal to me don't you think ?"

The Count groaned as the thought of him losing all the gold he had, but that was small matter compared to what he had as other properties, and most important, his life. So he motioned the head maid to do what the Spartan asked, and in a short while the maid returned with a chest, about the same size as an ammo box, and gave it the Spartan. 1337 opened it and it was filled with gold to the top. He took a handful of it and put it in his pills bag, he could use these to buy supplies he needed on the long run. The rest was given to Siesta, much to the shock of the maid.

"Take these." He said as he gave her the chest. "I heard from Marteau. Your family needs it more than me, so take it. I insist."

"Thank you Spartan. I and my family will never forget this." She said as tears welled up in her eyes. She was surprised when he gently wiped her tears out of the corner of her eyes.

"Don't cry, Siesta. Tears don't suit you well. Smile, please." He said. She just nodded and put on her brightest smile for him as he nodded and faced the Count one more time.

"Before I go, there is one more thing I want to give you." He said as he kicked the Count in the crotch. The sickening crushing sound could be heard through the mansion. Everyone in the room just winced at the damage, save for the Spartan, still calm and Derf, who was roaring with laughter. The count was toppled over and held his man-jewels in pain as he passed out.

"A momento for you, Motty. This way you will never touch an innocent girl again." He said as he walked toward the door. "Let's go home shall we ?"

The rest recovered from the image, and the head maid rushed off and started nursing the Count. Colbert and Louise just said that they will meet him back at school, as Colbert cast the levitation spell and the two took off. 1337 lifted Siesta off the ground in a bridal style, much to the embarrassment of the girl.

"Let's go. I want to get back before it's too late." Siesta just nodded at this.

"That was quite the adventure, huh partner ?" Derf asked.

"Yeah it was fun. Now let's go." He said as he started to run at full speed back to the academy, with Siesta in his hands.

**Author's note : Yeah that's about it. You know where that review button is, so you know what to do.**


	5. Fouquet

**Author's note : Sup, Fic readers. Aye, thanks for your reviews people, I need that stuffs. To your questions…**

**To Igfry : There will be violence. Perhaps not now, perhaps this chapter, but there will be violence.**

**To DJBingo : Yes Motty deserved that. And thanks for pointing out my mistake. English is not my native tongue, so yeah.**

**To the rest of y'all : Thanks and keep reviewing. More review, more upload. This chapter I'm digging deeper into 1337's personalities.**

**Here is chapter 5.**

-Tristain Academy of Magic-

It had been nearly a week since 1337 had landed on this planet. In the meantime he had asked the Headmaster if it was possible to transport him back to one of the planets, but the names of these planets weren't known to the old man, as there was no magic to return a summoned familiar. Therefore he decided to settle here until he could find something else to get home.

And thus he had built himself a base of operation by making an expansion of the shed, using the now broken down weapon rack as support poles, with the lumbers he gathered in the wood to build a decent roof. Of course these lumbers had received the permission to be cut down by the Headmaster. It didn't take him longer than a day to finish his so called base.

As at the moment he was in his base, or just the Shed as Derf referred to. Said sword was resting in a corner near the table, and 1337 was sitting on a rock that can support his weight. He was currently reading some of the books he had borrowed from the library, trying to find a clue on which planet he was, and a possible clue on how to get home.

So far he had no luck finding any clue just yet, but there were a few things that intrigued him. The planet he was landed in was not that different from Earth, such as the people, the time cycle and environments, with the exceptions of the magic, magical beasts and the two moons. And then there were their weird funky hair colors. The hair colors varied as much as the eyes can see. The only hair colors that he found normal were some of the blond ones, Siesta's and a few kitchen staffs had.

Currently he was residing in a continent named Halkeginia, similar to the medieval Europe back on Earth, if compared in development. Furthermore, Tristain Academy of Magic is located in Tristain, a country that compared to Earth would be a merge of the Netherlands and Belgium. Its neighbor country, Germania, had its equivalent German, and the country of Gallia was France. Further to the west is the country Albion, an equivalent to England, if you can say so. To his surprise the country was an island that floated in the sky, but soon 1337 discarded the data as irrelevant, as it was something that had to do with magic.

He sighed and stood up. As he picked Derf up, and walked outside, the ever present Energy sword and the Jackal energy shield on his back as the M90, he started to make his way to the kitchen for lunch. Ever since he rescued Siesta back from the Count, the staffs and especially Marteau had considered him a hero among the commoners, something he would never call himself. Despise that, he enjoyed the attention he got, as well as the company of Siesta and the food that chef Marteau made for him. As for Louise, she had started to treat him better, yet she still couldn't get rid of that stuck up noble attitude.

Lately the staffs had been busy, preparing for the upcoming Familiar Exhibition, which was due tomorrow, and also the rumor had gone around saying that the crown princess of Tristain, Henrietta, shall be visiting. Not that he hated being at the center of attention, but he disliked the term "exhibition". He is a human, and a Spartan, not just some object that you put behind plexiglass to observe.

As he made his way to the kitchen, he found Siesta and Marteau were busy building up a stand for the Exhibition. He decided to help out, and his inhuman strength came in handy when they had to lift the logs to build the stand, much to the staff's amazement. It would be faster if the mages had helped out, nut they said they didn't want to stain their hands with "commoner's work". Personally 1337 would like to see how they wished to dirty their hands when he broke them, but decided to go against it. The last thing he needed was to get the Headmaster on his ass.

After they had finished building the stand, and the artists went to decorate it, Siesta went and fetched the drinks and passed it to the workers. 1337 gladly accepted the glass of juice, and as he took off his helmet, Siesta gave him one of her brightest smile with a slight blush on her cheeks. This of course didn't go unnoticed by the Spartan as he looked at her through the corner of his eyes.

He knew about her feelings, of course. He wasn't stupid. He may not be the most intelligent of the Spartans, but he wasn't stupid. This left him however feeling strange. Through all his life all he did was fighting. If it wasn't the Insurrectionists then it was the Covenant. He had friends, but he never had time to have any romantic relationships as the war raged all the time. But on the other hand he liked to have her as company, and enjoy being in her presence very much. He had asked himself a few times, could these feelings be love ? He was never a romantic man, but a man nonetheless, and still had feelings.

Speaking of which, the red-haired mage named Kirch had been hitting on him ever since the day that he returned with Siesta. Her tactics were bold, and rather tempting if 1337 was a normal man. The first day she gave him the golden sword from town, he had repeated the same thing he said against the blacksmith, and turned her down. The next day she wanted to bribe him using the food, by order Marteau made the best culinary he could. But 1337 still was not fazed one bit. And then on the third day she had lured him into her bedroom as she laid down on the bed with the most seductive piece of lingerie she had. But he turned her down…

-Flashback ( every story needs one )-

"I'm sorry, miss Zerbst, but I can't do it." 1337 shook his head as he covered Kirch with the blanket.

"Why ? Do you have someone else ?" This made the Spartan cracked up a bit.

"You think so ?" He laughed. "No I don't."

"So why do you reject my love ?"

"I'm not sure if you really love me." He told her.

"I really love you." Kirch started to tear up. This was her last trump card. Men always get weak when a woman is in tears. "How can you say so ? I did all these things just for you."

She expected he would come closer, and held her face in his hand, which he did. She grinned inwardly as she thought that the Spartan would lean over to kiss her, but only to find his finger tracing her cheeks as he wiped out her tears. But she was in one more surprise when 1337 spoke one more sentence.

"You say you love me, but do you really know who I am ?" The sentence was simple but had a great impact on her. Sure, she knew he was the Spartan, a giant handsome awesome man inside an indestructible armor, but what else ? Nothing. Where he came from, his family, what he did his entire life. She didn't know any of that. 1337 spoke when it seemed that she was lost in thought.

"I don't mind if we become friends. Until you know more about me, and if you still love me, I'll be willing to give it a chance." And with that, he walked away, leaving Kirch in her room losing herself in the streams of thought. Damn, his speech was awesome. A smile on his face, he walked back to his room.

-Back to present-

Louise was in her room, thinking about how to win the Exhibition. The Princess was going there, and she needed to impress her lifelong friend. She had been pacing back and forth a few times now, and it seemed that she finally had found a few ideas. As 1337 entered the room, she was busy scribbling the ideas down. 1337 took a glance on these, and chuckled a bit. Louise looked up and was confused.

"These ideas are too simple for a Spartan." He said. "Increase the difficulty tenfold."

"Ya sure ya can handle that ?" Derf asked, as he knew what the Spartan was thinking.

"I am the awesome Spartan you know." He laughed.

"Then I will have that covered tomorrow." Louise said as she started to undress. "Rest. You need that strength."

The Spartan left the room for Louise to undress. As the motion tracker showed Louise no longer moving, he entered the room to get some shuteye.

-Next day-

1337 and Louise were having breakfast, she sat on a chair while he leaned against the wall, when Colbert came in and started to announce to all students.

"Princess Henrietta will be arriving here today for the Familiar Exhibition." He said to everyone. "Also the palace has given us news that a wanted criminal has been spotted, Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt. If you spot him, please report it to any of the professors. He is a powerful square class earth mage so do not fight him."

1337 perked up at that.

"Hear that, Derf ?" He whispered to the sword hanging off his back.

"Yep, Partner I heard." Derflinger whispered back. "But I bet you'll have no trouble wiping the floor with a thief right ?"

1337 shrugged. Yeah he could do that. Fighting was what Spartans were made for. A simple thief was no match to the awesome Spartan he is.

-Outside the yard-

As the stand was now set up on the yard, and the seat for the judges were next to it, 1337 and Louise ran over the plan once more.

"I know you are strong, but what else can you do ?" Louise asked 1337.

"Well, I can jump higher, run faster and hit harder than any human, and a master in close quarter combat." 1337 smiled under his helmet. "Look, I can just punch a rock and be done with it."

"But I really want to impress everyone, especially princess Henrietta." Louise mumbled.

"Well, I'm not exactly that entertaining." 1337 told her. "I'm a Spartan, not a circus freak. But trust me, I can punch hard."

"All right, well it's better than nothing at least." Louise sighed dejectedly. "We have to go soon Spartan, the Princess will be here soon." She said. 1337 stood up and followed her to the gate, to join the rest of the welcoming committee.

Four golden-helmeted stallions led a carriage quietly on the path inside the Magic Academy. The carriage was exquisitely adorned with gold, silver, and platinum sculptures. On one of those, a unicorn crossed with a crystal staff signaled that this carriage belongs to Her Majesty the Princess.

1337 used the binocular option on his helmet to check out the stallions. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the horses that were drawing the carriage are actually unicorns like the one on the sculptures. The Princess's carriage is surrounded by the Royal Guards, who were wearing heavy armors and armed with lance and Mage Knights, who were lighter armor with noble crests adorning their robes and a wand or staff in hands, as well as a rapier of sort on their waists. As the carriage passes through the path surrounded by the rows of students of the academy, they watch the carriage wishing to see the Princess. Flower petals gently fall from the air as cheers from the Tristainian students erupt among the students.

The curtain then opens revealing the beautiful flower of Tristain, Princess Henrietta, to the students. The cheers among them intensify among the students especially when she gives her rose-like smile to them. She has a slim figure, light blue eyes, high nose, she is an eye-catching beauty.

As she looks out of the window, she notices one figure that stands out among the students. It is a tall figure wearing bulky black and green armor and helmet with gold visor. The figures presence intrigues her until he crouched down, and only to have a short pink haired girl climbed up and sat on his shoulder. Henrietta recognized this girl as no one other than her best friend Louise. As soon as the curtain closes she sighs as she is able to breath out some of her melancholy. She is glad that no one else is with her in the carriage. No one should see a future queen sighs.

As all the judges sat down on their seats, with Henrietta on the highest seat, the Honor Seat, and Osmond on the second and finally Colbert on the lowest seat, the Familiar Exhibition began. To the Spartan, this so called Exhibition was rather interesting, if not disturbing at the same time. Interesting to know about the other species, or magical beasts as these mages called them, and what the familiars were able of. Disturbing, as in some of them were rather hideous in form as well as in ability, and 1337 had to refrain himself from blasting with his M90 right there.

But it was amusing as well. Guiche was posing like an idiot with his giant mole familiar, Belldandy, with a new rose/wand. Kirche and her familiar, a big lizard with flamed tail named Flame was pretty also interesting, as he saw the familiar spewing fire circles and jumped through them. Tabitha's exhibition was pretty cool though, her dragon Sylphid did aerial tricks, and Tabitha was adding wind spells in synchronization with her familiar.

It was supposed to be his turn right after this, but it never came. What followed next was a sound of explosion coming from one of the tower of the castle. Right then, everyone saw it. Louise turned around and she couldn't believe her eyes.

"What… what the heck is this ?" Her jaw dropped. What she saw was a huge earth golem moving towards them. 1337 immediately ran toward the golem, pushing anyone aside who was blocking his path. Louise recovered her senses and also ran towards him. Above them, the golem raised its foot.

1337 grabbed her, and dashed out of the way. It was big, but it was also slow. Minimal threat at best, nothing a Spartan couldn't handle. Placing Louise down, 1337, for the first time, grabbed his M90 and unlocked the safety switch. Louise hadn't asked him what it was. She figured it was some sort of oddly shaped musket.

"One of my weapons. Nothing special." He said as if he read her thought.

"Whoever summoned this golem must be at least a triangle level mage." Louise murmured.

"Stay here."

"No mage would desert her familiar like that." She answered frankly. "And beside, you have no right to order me."

"Shut it. If you get in the way and let the criminal escape, you'll face my judgments." 1337 said as he took off. He had to threaten her, or else she wouldn't get it through her head. And if she was smart enough to know his power from the other fights, she wouldn't want to face his judgments.

"Sorry Derf, but I don't think your body can handle this one, so we gotta use my weapon." 1337 said as he made his way to the golem.

"Think nothing of it partner. I can still help ya by being the eyes behind ya back." Derf replied.

"Thanks partner."

As he arrived on the sight, he found the golem pulled its hand out of the hole that it punched through the wall, and 1337's enhanced sight told him that it had some crate in its hand. Also, it appeared that there was a figure controlling this creature. A dark cape covered him from head to toe so they could not make out his face. It wouldn't matter to him. An enemy is an enemy, no matter who or what it is. Even if this planet wasn't in his priority, he was trained to protect humanity, and the golem and its master who had attacked the school had tried to harm the people, so he marked them as enemies.

The figure, who noticed the Spartan that was approaching at alarming speed, waved his hand and the golem pummeled with its hand toward the ground, trying to crush the Spartan. 1337, however, had noticed its attack before it could connect the ground, thanks to the enhanced reflexes. He jumped on its arm, and dropped one plasma grenade on its elbow, and moved faster toward the head where the figure was standing. This figure, who by now had noticed the Spartan running on the golem's arm, held his wand ready and started to chant a spell. However, nothing prepared her for the blast that came off from the plasma grenade, and as the golem's arm was blown off, the cloaked figure also lost his balance. 1337 took the opportunity to fire off one well aimed shot from the M90, blew the wand wielding hand off. The figure clutched his hand in pain, as a female voice yelled.

"Argh ! Stay away from me you monster !" The figure, apparently a woman, screamed at him. But he would take none of that.

"Monster ? Yes, I've been called like that before. But you know what ? I ! AM ! SPARTAN !"

The last word was followed by a kick to her chest as the figure started to fall down.

The golem, now lost control from its master, had started to go on rampage and was swinging its arm violently. 1337 was thrown off instantly after he kicked the cloaked woman, and due to his armor, he fell down faster. He was able to catch her in mid-air, and landed on the ground with a thud. He threw off the cloak, and to his surprise, the woman was the green-haired assistant of old Osmond he met a few days ago.

Right now he carried her to the few guards, who were now arrived at the scene and started to fend off the golem, but no avail. He gently placed her on the ground, and applied the bio-foam on her bleeding hand. He shortly explained the situation to the dumb-founded guards, and proceeded to take out the golem.

1337 threw two last grenades he had on his body to its knees and pumped his shotgun as he aimed for the kill. As the grenades exploded, the knees went weak and 1337 shot two more rounds on the weakened knees and the golem fell down, but it wasn't dead yet. 1337 noticed the crate it dropped, and went to secure it. Whatever inside it must be important, if the golem and that thief get through all the trouble to secure it. The crate was a simple wooden one, with a white cloth covered the top. But he was surprised once more as he saw the UNSC insignia on it. He tore off the cloth and broke the top off, and to his joy, he found an M41 SSR rocket launcher.

The weapon scan showed that the weapon was still intact, and had two rounds left in it. He ran toward the golem and jumped as high as he could. At the height of ten foot he shot the rocket at its neck, destroyed the head and shoulders part completely and soon the rest of the body crumbled into dust. He simply landed with a thud, strapped the M41 on his back and went to pick up the M90.

When the guards secured the area, Osmond and the Princess appeared, along with several others, such as Colbert, Louise, Kirche and Tabitha. Henrietta was the first of who spoke as she approached him, slowly but elegantly.

"Thank you warrior to save us all from a great threat." She nodded and smiled to him.

"No big deal madam. Just doing my job." He said nonchalantly.

"May I ask what is your name ?"

"Spartan 1337 ma'am. Soldier. Currently miss Valliere's familiar."

"Spartan, I must ask you to return the Staff of Destruction back to us." Osmond asked as he pointed at the M41.

"Oh you mean this ?" 1337 said as he took off the M41. "I also have a few questions about this."

"Very well. We can discuss this in my office. Princess," Osmond said as he turned to Henrietta. "…would you mind if you accompany us to my office ? The rest can leave. The Exhibition ends here."

Some students groaned as they couldn't show off their familiars, but the rest just walked back to the great hall for lunch, but also to spread rumors about the fight between the Spartan and the golem. Some of the guards accompanied the Princess together with the Spartan to the Headmaster's office, while the remaining guards took the Princess' order, and tied up Longueville, or now known as Fouquet, and took her back to the capital city to await her punishment from the Council.

-Headmaster's Office-

"Princess, I must humbly apologize, as I let such disaster befalls upon us. I never knew that my assistant would be Fouquet." Osmond said as he knew down.

"Please stand up, sir Osmond. You knew nothing, so I can't really blame you." Henrietta said.

"You are lucky this time that I was here." 1337 said. "If anyone can get hand on the M41 it would be bad."

"Yes Spartan. By the way you speak of this weapon, I assume you knew about this ?" Osmond asked.

"Yes. They came from my homeland." 1337 just nodded.

"Where are your homeland Spartan ?" Henrietta asked, as she never knew about 1337's story. "How can your people make such powerful magical items ?"

"They are powerful alright." He replied with a laugh. "But they aren't magical. Just technological more advanced than in this world."

"You say this world, so where do you come from Spartan ?"

"I came from far away, where my home is located far beyond the stars, and that is all I can tell you."

"Unbelievable, but I trust that you spoke the truth."

"Now to you Osmond. Where did you get this ?" 1337 asked.

"That was a long time ago, when I was just a simple mage back then. When the old King was still alive there was a dragon rampaging the country. A group of mages were sent to deal with it. None but one came back alive, and that was me."

"What happened then ?" Henrietta asked.

"We were all slain by the dragon, as none of our power combined could defeat it. When I thought that this would be my end, a man came out of nowhere and pointed this Staff of Destruction at the dragon and blew its head off and saved my hide." Osmond sighed as he continued. "Too bad, both this man and my companions were in bad shape, and they all died shortly after that. This strange man's last words were "Must defend Earth !". I had no idea why would someone want to protect an element, but I engraved to his tomb. In his honor I buried the Staff he used with him, while the other is the one you held in your hands right now."

"I see." 1337 nodded. "Must be one of my unfortunate fellow soldiers. Did he left something else behind ?"

"Yes. He left this necklace behind." Osmond pulled it out of his pocket. "I keep it as a momento. It was embedded with strange engravings which I cannot read. Perhaps you can tell me."

"Jacky Couperman. Unit 24B. Private." 1337 read as he took the dog tag. "Jacky Couperman was his name. Can you do him a honor and write this on his tombstone ?"

"Yes certainly. I wrote down the words Earth's protector on the tombstone before, but now I can finally put on his real name."

"I think it is rather fitting." 1337 said as he gave Osmond the tag. "He was one of many, but still an Earth's protector."

"I must ask you to return the Staff, however. It is too dangerous to let this weapon exposed to the outside world." Osmond said. "No offense to you Spartan."

"None taken. But I need to keep this." 1337 said as he ejected the last missile out of the M41. "Now this weapon is harmless."

"Thank you Spartan. This weapon will be stored in a better secured location to prevent this from happening again."

"Sir Osmond, can you ask miss Valliere to your office ? I want to have a word with her." Henrietta said. Osmond just nodded as he motioned Colbert to go. A few moment later, Colbert returned with a shocked, yet happy looking Louise as Henrietta closed in and gave her a hug.

"Oh my dear friend Louise, just how long have we not met ?" Henrietta said.

"Please Princess, do not call me your friend, I am not befitting of such title." Louise bowed down and said.

"Such nonsense Louise. We were friends, and we still are, nothing can change that."

"Thank you Princess."

"Yes, now to the matter." Henrietta returned to her business voice. "As you know, soon I will be chosen as Queen, and as a Queen, I need to know how the people think of me in order to rule this country. Therefore, I am sending you on a mission. This is a reconnaissance mission, and therefore not an official mission. Sir Osmond, is that alright with you to have miss Valliere a few days off ?"

"If that is what you want your Highness."

"Very well." Henrietta reached for her pocket and pulled out a bag filled with gold. "This is your compensation as well as your fee for traveling. I expect your report in no less than twenty days from now on."

"I, Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere, humbly accept your mission and the faith you put in me." Louise kneeled down as she accepted the bag.

"Please stand up Louise, there is no need to be formal."

"If you don't mind me, I would like to leave you two to reminiscence." 1337 said. "I need to see if there is anyone else that got hurt during the fight."

Henrietta nodded and with that, 1337 left the office.

-Kitchen-

The first place 1337 headed to was the kitchen. Siesta had a white bandage on her head in contrast with her raven black hair. 1337 was angry, and that was directed at himself. He had been careless, and Siesta was hurt due to his carelessness. She ensured him it was alright, she could still work, but he and Marteau ordered her to rest for at least a week, and if there was any problem, he would like to help. Some of the staffs also suffered minor injuries due to fallen debris, and those who had more serious injuries were first to witness the miracle of bio-foam.

He applied it to the wound, and with some help from the other maids, he sewed off the gaping wounds with a needle and some cords. He assured that they will be find, the bio-foam had neutralized any infection and the wound won't be opened again as he had sewed it off, but it will leave a scar behind. He then left to get some rest in the Shed, to finally have a new adventure tomorrow. Perhaps he would find what he needed to get back to Earth.

**Author's note : That's about it for now. Also I want to ask 2 questions.**

**Do you want a 1337xSiesta or a 1337 harem ? **

**Should I change this to M rate with more violence and lemons ?**

**PM and reviews me if you want to answer the questions. I await your reviews.**


	6. Enchanting Fairy Mansion

**Author's note : Okay I'm back again, sorry if I'm late, it was a busy week. It seems last time I made a mistake about Guiche's familiar. Turned out its name was Verdandi, not Belldandy, though this could be due to Japanese way of speaking, but wiki said it's Verdandi, so Verdandi it is.**

**What do you think about the 300 reference I made ? And if you don't know 300, don't even call yourselves a Spartan. To the fans…**

**To some random dude/dudess : Thanks for the advice, I'll take it.**

**To the dude who said an M41 will never be harmless : Pls, an M41 without the rocket is just a piece of metal you can use to wack someone upside down in the head. Unless you can find a way to create 102mm rockets, which is impossibru in Halkeginia. By then I will have 1337 destroy it.**

**To DJBingo : I must say that 1337 is an adult in his mid 20s, though immature at some point, and not a lolicon, so no lemons involved Louise or Tabitha. Only Jailbaits like Kirch or Siesta, or legal enough, like the big boobs elf, or Siesta's cousin. Romantic stuffs involved Tabitha n Louise from them are acceptable. **

**To the rest of y'all thanks for the reviews. Furthermore, most of you wanted a harem, and I think it could work. However, the T-rate remains for now, as well as 1337xSiesta pairing. Until I find a way how I can make a harem, I will let y'all know.**

**Anyway, here is chapter 6.**

-A small town north of Tristain-

"Well I guess this doesn't make you stand out a lot." 1337 said after he bought Louise a simple black dress, a "commoner's type", as Louise said it. The mission was rather easy, disguised as civilians, gather intel, that sort of things. Although 1337 was more of a front line soldier, interacting with normal folks was not too difficult to him, considering he had done many diplomatic missions before. Even though most of them were failures.

"It's too plain." Louise complained.

"Well, at least it makes the mission easier." He replied.

"Said a giant in a green armor." Louise retorted.

"We Spartans are not comfortable without the armors. Beside, at least thieves would know to back off."

"Partner got a point ya know." Derf chimed in.

"Fine, now let's find a hotel to stay. We are going to settle here in the next few days."

"Right."

"Rumors said that there is a noble in this town who is abusing his power to gain wealth from commoners." Louise said as she bristled a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Such actions are despicable. It taints the title of nobles, and therefore, we are here to find out what is real and then report it back to the Princess."

"It is despicable alright." 1337 snorted. "But it is funny considered it came from someone who intended to whip her protector the first time he entered her room."

"That was different." Louise said.

"How so ?"

"You are not a commoner, you are a familiar. Anyway, let's go before it gets dark."

1337 sighed and nodded as they walked the small streets of this town. It was a nameless town, not much was known about this, however, they both know this was a wealthy town, and considering the buildings was solid and tall, in Tristain standard. The streets were covered in firm stones, as seen in England back on Earth in 18th century. They walked for a while until Louise stopped before a grand building, with a green board above the large oaken doors, reading "Hotel de la Grande".

"What ? 200 gold ?" Louise yelled in disbelief.

"Yes, of course." The receptionist replied. "Our hotel offers the best services, that even the nobles would come here and stay during their journeys."

"Hey Louise do we have enough for this place ?" 1337 asked.

"Um, I'm sorry, but I think we must go." Louise mumbled toward the receptionist, and dragged 1337 outside.

"Che, commoners." The receptionist sighed as he watched Louise walked away.

"Just find a cheaper inn." 1337 said as he walked outside.

"No, it doesn't fit my status as a noble."

"Right now you are a commoner. If you can't act like one, the mission will be a failure." 1337 smirked. "Or perhaps we should just come back and tell Henrietta that we can't do it since you must have to stay in an expensive hotel." 1337 laughed inwardly as he saw that he struck a nerve, when he saw that Louise turned red.

"No, and don't you dare call the Princess by her given name."

"Look, princess is just a title. I call someone by his or her name is a token of respect, not otherwise."

"Fine. Wait here, and don't you dare follow me. I'll show you that I can do it." She said and ran to the west side of the town. 1337 sighed as he started to trail her.

-A short while later-

"I told you not to rise, didn't I ?" 1337 said.

"Yeah, but if I do I can win more."

"But was that really necessary to go all in ?"

"Well, it was a bluff." Louise pouted.

"Well a bluff of 300 gold." 1337 wanted to yell at her, but held it back. "You are lucky I still have about 50 gold left from Motty. We can manage to stay a few days in a small inn if we use the budget correctly."

Well, apparently our hero had found Louise at a casino, and instead of warned her not to waste money, he had stood there and watched in amazement at the casino. It was like one of these old casinos from some old movies back in 21st century. 1337 had never done anything that had to do with gambling, since he was considered the unluckiest of the Spartan, though he did took a lot of risk in his line of work. It was still amazing how he survived the war to many people, including dr. Halsey herself. And thus, in no longer than a few matches of poker, and that was still unknown to 1337 how they knew the rules, 300 gold was gone in smoke. And now they sat there on the side of the fountain in front of the casino.

"Ah, travelers, do you seek an inn to stay ?"

1337 looked up only to see a middle aged man, well muscular with a thin mustache standing next to them. Or for the better words, wiggling. He wore a dark pink tight latex short with a tight purple sleeveless shirt, and wore heavy make-up.

"And then I thought that Guiche looked gay." 1337 groaned inwardly. He had nothing against homo, though. But acting so flamboyantly gay was a bit too much for him.

"And who may you be ?" He asked the man cautiously.

"My name is Scarron, I run an inn near the border of the town."

"Is the price reasonable ?" Louise asked.

"Oui, oui. Our inn provides the best service for the cheapest price around here."

"Shall we ?" 1337 asked and Louise nodded.

"Come along now travelers."

"Thank you mister Scarron." He replied.

"Non, non. You must call me "Mademoiselle"." Scarron said as he wiggled his hips.

"Mademoiselle." He repeated.

"Oui, oui. Now follow me." Scarron said as he walked to his inn, hips swaying all the way.

"Aren't you glad miss Valliere ? We managed to find a good inn to stay." 1337 said as he followed Scarron.

"I don't trust him."

"I'm here right ?" He told her reassuringly. "I'm here to protect you."

"And I trust that you do your job well." Louise nodded.

"You don't need to tell a Spartan how to do his job miss Valliere." 1337 smiled beneath his helmet as he continued to walk.

-Enchanting Fairy Mansion-

"Here we are, le Enchanting Fairy Mansion." Scarron said, as he opened the door to the inn. The EFM was a two stories building, medium sized in Tristain standard. The first floor was used as a tavern, with a kitchen on the back, and tables in the front for customers to order foods and drinks. The second floor was no doubt where the rooms were.

All in all the EFM was an average inn, not much different from any normal inn. But what 1337 thought that made the inn stood out more than the rest was the services, namely maids in skimpy dresses serving foods and drinks to the customers. That, and its eccentric owner.

"How shameful !" Louise mumbled as she saw the maids who greeted Scarron with a loud "Bon soir, mi Mademoiselle.".

"You shouldn't say that miss Valliere." 1337 spoke. "You have no idea who they are, and their situations. You think that there are girls who enjoy this kind of job ? Unlike you nobles, the commoners have to work to make a living. So just don't judge a book by its cover."

"My apologies. I never thought about that." Louise whispered an apology.

"As long as you know." 1337 said back. "Now mademoiselle Scarron." He said as he approached the front desk. "How is the price of this inn ?"

"For that you can talk to me." A girl behind the desk said. 1337 turned to her, as Scarron walked away. the girl was young, possibly in her early 20, black haired and quite attractive in her own way.

"The name is Jessica, Scarron's daughter and manager of the Enchanting Fairy Mansion." She said.

"Nice to meet you. I am Spartan 1337, but most people call me Spartan. Though I'm surprised that mademoiselle Scarron has a daughter."

"He was always a good father." Jessica smiled a sad smile. "But after my mother passed away, he took over the role of a mother and became like this."

"I'm sorry if I mentioned bad memories." 1337 scratched his helmet sheepishly.

"That's fine. It happened long ago. Anyway Spartan, I heard you are going to stay here ?"

"Yes. So how is the price ?"

"15 gold coins a day, including meals." Jessica said with a wink.

"That's quite reasonable."

"Well, I never mentioned the tips for our waitresses. You need to give them tips for their services see ?" She said as she pointed at a few men who were drinking with some girls, and once in a while the girls laughed at the lame jokes and the men slipped some coins into the maids' pocket or cleavages, wherever they can get their hands into.

"I see." 1337 nodded. Of course he knew about the custom of tipping, as it wasn't strange about it, after the peaceful day after the war he had went to a bar, and before that he had a full lecture at courtesy of dr. Halsey how to interact with the normal folks.

Louise had sat there on a table and ordered a drink while the Spartan arranged the room. She just ordered some drinks she found on the menu, and picked one randomly.

"Sake ? What is that ?" She thought. "Hey waitress, one sake." She whisked at a nearby girl, as the girl took the order and returned with a cup of water.

"Hey this is water." Louise said, undignified. "I ordered sake."

"This is sake, young mistress." The maid replied. "It looks like water but tastes different."

Louise brought the cup to her mouth and sipped a little. The liquid was warm in her mouth, and it was not a very pleasant smell but it didn't taste too bad, and she swallowed it. The sake burned in her throat, and she was about to yell out until a sold sensation hit her lung and she let out her breath. It was not as bad as she thought. The maid smiled and left, leaving the bottle behind. Louise then filled her cup with the bottle as she drink one after another.

1337, who by now had done paying the rent for three days, returned to the table. And all he found was a now giddy drunken Louise and some old men who were trying to seduced the poor girl. 1337 approached the table as he looked at the men, and he knew their looks contained not very pure intentions. The men who saw him slowly started to back away, as they saw a giant armored man, or golem, walking toward them with a deadly looking strange musket and a sword on his back.

"Looks like I can't take my eyes off you for a minute miss Valliere." 1337 sighed and shook his head.

"Hehe, hic, Spartan, come here and have, hic, a bit of sake." Louise giggled.

"Wait, did you say sake ?"

"Yeah ? Come have some." Louise gave him an empty cup, but found the bottle to be empty. "Hey waitress !" She yelled. "Another bottle of sake."

"Coming right up." A voice replied from the kitchen. 1337 suddenly stopped. He recognized this voice. And his speculation was confirmed as Siesta came out from the kitchen.

"Siesta ?"

"Spartan." Siesta smiled like a happy child as she came closer to give him a hug. It was feeling like déjà vu all over again as he felt the jealous intense gazes coming from almost every male occupant in the room, save for Scarron, as well as Louise who was pouting, fuming, hiccupping and gazing a hole in his head at the same time. He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder, as he had seen many other people did and had done so many times himself.

"What are you doing here Siesta ? I thought you were at the academy ?" He asked as he pulled away from her.

"Marteau gave me a vacation since the last accident with Fouquet, so I came here to help out Uncle Scarron. Or should I say mademoiselle Scarron. Oh I just still can't get used to it." She giggled a bit.

"Tell me about it. Anyway, I want to ask you something. How did you get this sake ?"

"Oh that, it was a family receipt, passed down from my grandfather. Do you want to taste it ?"

"Nah, I never drink alcoholic drinks, and I'm not gonna start doing it. But can I ask a few more questions ?"

"Yes of course, anything for you Spartan." She blushed a bit as she sat down on a chair. "Come sit down."

"If you don't mind I'd like to stand."

"Ah yes, the armor." Siesta nodded understandingly. 1337 was about to talk when he felt a tug at his wrist, as he saw Louise pulling his arm toward her.

"I think I should take my "master" to her room first. I will talk to you later." He said with a small laugh.

"Of course. I will accompany you to your room. Please follow me."

As they walked up the stairs Siesta could feel the uncomfortable glare coming from Louise, but she paid it no mind. Her Spartan was here and that was for her enough. Wait, when was he "her Spartan" ? Bad, bad Siesta.

1337 laid Louise down after he entered the small room they were staying for the next few days. He tucked her under the blanket, and was about to leave, when Louise held his hand and not let it go. He understood the action, as she didn't want him to leave, not until she felt asleep anyway.

"I'll see you later then." He whispered to Siesta, not wanting to wake Louise, who was slowly dozing off, but not letting go of the hand yet. "Till then do not speak to anyone that Louise is a mage."

Siesta smiled and nodded, and left the room silently. 1337 sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall. He waited until Louise was finally asleep, with her little snores to confirm the fact. Carefully, he removed her grip from his hand and put her small hand on the blanket, and crept outside.

It was already evening when he came down. Guessed he must have been dozed off. He walked to the bar and ordered some food, ignoring all the stares he got, mostly from any customers that entered the inn. There weren't many travelers to stay in the inn, yet this place was flourishing with men, as the services provided by the maids was attracting a lot of people, and there were even women who came here as customers to learn how to serve their beloved.

"So I heard about you from Siesta." Jessica talked to him from behind the bar. "Well actually I forced her to tell me, but that is not important. From what I heard you had saved her a few times now, and going so far to fight against the noble. For that you have my thank."

"She is the first real friend I made since I came to Tristain." 1337 said, concealing the fact the he came from space. "I do what anyone with a conscience would do."

"Right, and you tell me that you consider her as just a friend ?"

"For now yes." He nodded.

"Good enough. But you don't look like someone from here. Just who are you Spartan ?"

"I'll tell you once, and once only." 1337 leaned against the table. "I am one of the strongest warriors in the world. I am Spartan 1337."

"Well, that explained a lot." Jessica said full with sarcasm, but smiled.

"Sorry, but that is all I can tell you." 1337 laughed. "I would like to have some food, and have a meal delivered to my companion as well."

"No problem, take a seat, the food will be served in a minute." Jessica smiled and gave the order to a maid, who in turn walked into the kitchen. Jessica offered him sake but he declined. In his whole life he never drank something that contained alcohol, and he saw no point in doing it now. Derf had been quite ever since he was in public, something they had agreed upon that since the incident with Motty their names would be well-known, if not posted on the wanted board or given a bounty on their heads.

Siesta herself had served the meal to him personally, and once again for the day all men in the room glared at him. Apparently Siesta was a well-known maid in this inn, not strange considering this is a family business. He ignored it as he took the meals upstairs. He ate it and left the tray at the drawer. Siesta was nice enough to serve up a glass full with milk, though he do not know which species it came from, 1337 was sure it was drinkable. The milk, as Siesta said, was a great antidote against hangover.

Later that night Louise woke up, and 1337 helped her to get up and eat, as he gave her the milk when he complained about the headache. After that they went to sleep, as Louise slept on the bed while 1337 slept on the ground, leaning against the door in front of the door.

The next two day went by peacefully. They had a tour through the town, led by Siesta, who had been given a day off by Scarron, as thanks for him to rescue his niece from count Mott. Also when Siesta told him about the money the Spartan gave her from count Mott, Scarron had offered him to stay in the inn for free whenever he wanted. 1337 accepted the offer, but still let Scarron keep the money he had paid. A deal is a deal, no matter what.

The rumor appeared to be true, though not all the facts were true. 1337 picked up here and there about the cases that the official of this town, a tax collector named Turene who was assigned here by the old Queen. The words went around that he raised the tax more that it should be, and report only the regular amount. Not only that, but from this Turene also misusing his power to bother the citizens, mostly the maids in the EFM. It took him some restraints upon himself as well as Siesta and Louise holding him back to not storm in his place and wrecked everything up. They still need more solid evidence, other than mere rumors.

But our Spartan didn't need more time to wait, as at that same night, as Turene showed up. At first 1337 didn't know who the man was. All he thought that he was probably some merchant judging from his clothes. 1337 was eating in the hall with Louise, when that guy showed up. Most people were quiet when he entered. And in no time his henchmen cleared the hall, and the only people left was the girls, Scarron and himself.

"Oh isn't it monsieur Turene ? What a wonderful night is it not ?" Scarron was busying himself at Turene, trying to smooth talk him. 1337 could notice his voice was full with fear and it wasn't his natural tone.

"You know why I am here Scarron." Turene said as he sat down. 1337 could swear that this guy was one of the ugliest human he had met. Siesta herself must serve the man his food, and it was a big meal, more than he could even eat.

"Hey you there, golem." One of the henchmen shouted at him. "How dare you sit on the same level as lord Turene ?"

1337 merely glanced at this guy, and merely grunted. This infuriated him as the henchmen kicked and flipped the table 1337 was sitting on. 1337 caught his helmet in mid-air and put it on with a hiss, while his right hand moved upward to the man's chin, shattered his lower jaw completely, and followed with a kicked to mid-section, the guy flew passed the tax collector and through the door and landed on the pavement.

"Lower jaw shattered, 3 ribs broken and 2 ribs fractured, lungs and heart incapacitated." 1337 merely summed up the damage he inflicted. "4 months to recover physical damage with proper healing. 2 years to recover mental damage with counseling."

All the men immediately pulled out their weapons, which were pole arms and swords. Louise wanted to pull her wand out, but 1337 out his hand on hers, and shook his head.

"Let me handle this." He whispered to her. She merely nodded, and trusted him to do the dirty work. The rest of the henchmen surrounded him, in a rectangle formation.

"Not bad, they had some training." He thought. "But they would need a lot more to go against me."

The first one jumped at him, holding a spear in his hand. 1337 merely stepped aside and let the man stumble and grabbed the back of his head as the Spartan slammed it at the ground, buried his face on the wooded floor. The rest immediately lunched at him. The first one with a sword tried to stabbed him, but found himself in shock as the green behemoth before him hold his blade in hand, and 1337 punched the poor guy's throat, broke it and the man was dead before he hit the floor. Another guy with a spear aimed for his head, and 1337 ducked as he threw an uppercut to his jaw, and he flew up, toward the ceiling and stayed there as his body went limp, and blood dripped on the floor. The last two started to back away, but before they could reach the door, their necks were in the Spartan's hands.

"And now you may kiss the bride." 1337 said as he slammed their faces together in a bloody smear. "Amen."

All of this happened in less than a minute, leaving everybody in the room completely in shock, save for Louise, who started to get used to the Spartan's display of power. 1337 slowly approached the fat man, and kicked his chair. The fat lump felt to the floor with a loud thud and cracking noise of the floor. He pulled out Derf, who started to crack.

"Why didn't you use me earlier ?" Derf asked.

"They weren't worth your time." If Derf had a head, he would be nodding. But he had none, so a grunt came out instead. "Hey, Derf, how about a bath ?"

"Bath ?"

"Yeah." 1337 grinned as he approached the fat man. "A bath of blood."

Everyone started to feel really nauseous and Terene started to sweat uncontrollably. Terene started to pulled out several bags full with coins.

"Please spare me oh noble warrior." He started to grovel and begged.

"Pitiful." 1337 shook his head. Turene pulled out several more.

"I'll let you live because there are things I want you to do."

"Yes, please, tell me, I'll do anything, just spare me."

"I want you to return all the money you took from the citizens, and also pay back for anything you have taken. After that, I want you to retire. A corrupted person like you is not fit to serve this Kingdom."

Turene seemed like he was lost in thought, but snapped out of it as he felt the cold metal blade against his neck.

"Well ?" Derf asked.

"Yes of course, noble warrior." Turene said as he crawled to the door. 1337 just kicked his ass out, and everyone laughed at that. 1337 picked up the bags Turene left behind, but kept one for himself.

"This should be enough to compensate the damage for the inn." He said as he handed them to Scarron.

"Spartan, this… this is too much, I can't accept all of this." Scarron said, at his normal manly voice for once.

"Then share it all among the girls." Scarron smiled at this, and all the girls started to shower him with kisses as tokens of thanks, much to the dismay of Louise. Siesta had also took the chance to give him a kiss, and blushed furiously when he noticed. 1337 just let out a nervous chuckle at this.

"Okay people, make room for the two love birds." Jessica loudly yelled, and every one cheered, except for 1337, Louise and Siesta.

"Well I am tired, so we are going to sleep." Louise said as she pulled him to the room, making him wondered where she ever had the strength from. 1337 shot a nervous glance at Siesta, and the maid smiled back and waved.

-Next morning-

"Well this is goodbye Scarron. Or should I say mademoiselle Scarron." 1337 said.

"Of course, you can return to visit us whenever you wish for."

"I will see you at the academy then Spartan." Siesta said as she kissed his cheeks, or where it should be if it want for the helmet. 1337 returned the favor by giving her a hug, and Siesta let out her trademark "Kya !" and immediately blushed red, while Louise was fuming and tapping her foot impatiently. As they walked away until they could no longer see the crew of EFM waving at them, 1337 was in thought. In the end, he still couldn't ask Siesta about the sake, but he still can ask her when they were back at the Academy. For now, he must return to the palace to report back to Henrietta. Their time was over, and they must return. 1337 sighed. He hoped that the trip would go well.

**Author's note : So this is chapter 6. Anything I should know, and if you like this, please reviews. You know the rules : I post something nice, you post reviews, and I post something back for you to read. Capise ? Si ? Good.**


	7. Next Mission

**Author's note : Well there weren't many reviews for chap 6 compared to chap 5, but I'll write stuffs anyway, since I can't stop my imagination flows. But still, more reviews = more uploads, so please reviews for me people, I need that stuffs to write. Without further ranting for reviews, here is chapter 7.**

-Tristain Royal Palace-

After two days of traveling through various means, which in fact was actually letting 1337 carry Louise and run at normal speed in Spartan standard, which was way faster than horse carriage and cheaper. 1337 was okay with that, since Louise weighted nothing more than a courier package, and 1337 had more stamina than a normal human anyway, so it was cool with him. As long as they took breaks and let him sleep enough.

Of course, traveling by 1337 was proven difficult, as seeing how shit happened everywhere he went. First he dropped his bag and the stuffs of Louise he was carrying in a lake, and after a few hours of diving he finally found everything back, with relief that his meds bag was water proof. Then they were kicked out of an inn, when 1337 leaned on a wooden balk that support the roof, he broke it due to his weight, and they ended up spending the night on a makeshift camp in the woods. And several things happened among the lists of "What could happen if you travel with 1337 ?" types of things. But, his speed made up for the accident, so after all, they still managed to reach the palace on schedule.

Right now our favorite Spartan was standing in wait at the front gate of the palace together with Louise, who was arranging how to get into the palace.

"Listen here kid." The guard, a burly man with a rough mustache spoke in a typical raspy voice. "The palace is off limit for commoners, and unauthorized personnel."

"Listen here, commoner." Louise said as she pulled out her wand. "Go and tell Princess Henrietta that Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière is here, and she will understand."

"I'm sorry my Lady." The guard apologized, as he realized Louise's status, as well as her family name. "But the princess is in the middle of a meeting with the Council right now, and she can't be disturbed. Perhaps I can relay a message to her Highness."

Louise nodded and the guard excused himself and went inside. Turning back to the Spartan, Louise just sighed.

"Do you want me to sneak into the castle and tell the princess, and then be done with it ?" 1337 flatly said.

"No, you fool. If you do that we will be marked as traitors and sent to prison." Louise almost yelled.

"Just a suggestion. Anyway, what do you want to do now ?"

"We wait." Louise just shook her head. "We got no coins left, no decent clothing, well except for you since you always wear that armor, and we know nothing about the layout of the capitol. So what do you think we should do ?"

"Haven't you been here before miss Vallière ? Even though you were Princess' playmate."

"I've been inside the castle, but I never explored the capital city. Whenever I was here I went with my family by carriage, so I'm not very knowledgeable about the area around here."

Silence followed and they stood there and wait. 1337 was fine with it, since he was a war veteran and awesome dose of superhuman powers and all, but Louise was not fine by any definition. Well, not everyone was find if you travel two days long with 1337, walking through all kinds of troubles and riding something that faster than the fastest by Halkeginia standard on lands. Motion sickness, migraine, lethal dose of stuck up noble attitude can be a real nasty bitch. And thus, the short pinkette was sleeping soundly, while sitting next to 1337, her head resting upon his arm, since she was too short to reach his shoulder. After a while it started to get dark and the guards started to light up torches outside the gate. With his aided night vision, 1337 had no problem seeing in the dark, but still, he didn't want to tire his eyes out.

"Hey partner, that big guard is back." Derf said as he "saw" the guard approaching.

"Yeah I see him." 1337 nodded and woke up Louise.

"Lady Valliere, the Princess is ready to see you."

"Lead the way." Louise said with a short yawn, due to being awoken too early. The guard turned around and motioned the other ones to raise the gate after they had passed through. After a long walk around the royal garden, with passing through a giant fountain and several marble statues of mystical beasts, mostly unicorns, they arrived at the dining hall, where the princess herself was standing at the doors, awaiting her lifelong friend and her familiar. She motioned the guard to leave and led the two guests inside the hall.

Foods of all kinds were on the table, while several servants were serving up the cutlery and other delicacies. It was certainly a royal treat, and after three weeks of traveling, the foods on the table were considered a gift from founder Brimir, delivered by the Princess. As for 1337, he could hear his stomach grumbling, only not loud enough for a normal ear to hear. The Princess was also considered the Spartan's weight as she had a tall block of stone served as a chair.

"Please my friends, enjoy this meal as a token of thanks for what you did." Henrietta smiled as she and the rest sat on the table. Henrietta and Louise clasped their hands together and began a prayer, much to 1337's amusement as it resembled the Christian prayer before eating. Of course he wouldn't mention this, as it will only confuse other people even more. He took off his helmet and wait until the girls were done. As at the moment the Princess took the first bite, 1337 started to dig in. Many foods were from unknown origins to him, but if it's edible, then he's fine with it. No point in wondering what it could be if you can eat it and prevent starvation, something he learned from his "trips" to other planets.

After the meal was done, the servants served up the desserts and took the rest of the foods away. The desserts consisted from various fruits, some of them tasted, smelled and even looked like those that grew on the outer colonies of the UNSC, which made 1337 wondered if this was coincident.

"Well, whatever, I'll find that out later." He thought.

He wandered outside for a walk around the garden as a small exercise after the meal, while Louise reported back to the Princess about what happened in the village where Scarron lived, as well as various stories they encountered along the way, and also the general opinions of the common folks about to have a young Queen as their leader. 1337 never had anything to do with high official or politic matters and he wasn't really good at that either, so he didn't care to take part of the report. After a few laps around the garden, he sat down outside the hall, waiting for Louise.

"Oh Spartan, you are here." A maid said as she appeared before him. "Please, go inside, the Princess wants to discuss something with the both of you."

As he walked inside, he found the two girls sitting on the table, laughing and reminiscing at their memories.

"When we were little children, didn't we get together and chase butterflies at the palace courtyard? And got all muddy?" Henrietta said with a laugh.

"Yes, and La Porte the chamberlain told us off for getting our clothes so dirty." Louise answered with a shy face.

"Yes ! That's right, Louise! We were arguing over those puffy cream cakes, and ended up having a real scuffle ! Oh, whenever we fought, it was me who always lost. You would grab my hair, and I'd just start crying."

"Not at all, princess achieved victory on at least one occasion." Louise said.

"You remembered ! Looking at the two of us, one could call that battle the Siege of Amiens !" the princess said, giggling.

"That was when we were fighting over a dress in princess' bedroom, wasn't it ?" Louise asked.

"Yes, in the middle of our 'Make-Believe Royal Court', we ended up fighting over who would play princess ! And it was my blow to your stomach, Louise, that successfully decided it."

"I'd fainted in the presence of princess." Louise said calmly, as if that would explain it. After that, the two of them exchanged glances and broke out in laughter. 1337, amazed, just kept watching them in that state. The princess may have looked like a lady, but she was actually a tomboy.

"That's more like it. Louise. Ah, I'm getting so nostalgic, tears are coming out." The Princess said as she wept.

"But, I am deeply moved that princess would remember such things... I thought you'd already forgotten about me."

"How could I forget ?" The princess gave a deep sigh. "During those times, every day was fun. There was nothing at all to worry about." There was a profound sadness in her voice.

"Princess?" Louise asked as she looked worried when she peered into Henrietta's face.

"How I envy you. Freedom is such a wonderful thing, Louise." the princess said, her voice had a hint of jealousy in it.

"What are you saying ? You're the royal princess, are you not ?" 1337 said as he entered the conversation.

"A princess born in her kingdom is like a bird being raised in a cage. You go here and there on your master's every whim." Henrietta said, looking lonely as she gazed at the moons outside the window. She then held Louise's hands and gave a sweet smile before speaking. "I... I'm getting married."

"You have my congratulations." Louise, who somehow felt the sadness in that tone, spoke in a subdued voice. And with a sad tone, Henrietta started talking.

"I am to marry the Emperor of Germania."

"Germania, you say ?"Louise, who hated Germania due to her façade with Kirch's family, spoke out in astonishment. "That country of barbaric upstarts ?"

"Yes. But it can't be helped. It must be done to solidify our alliance." Henrietta explained the political climate of Halkeginia to Louise. "There was an insurrection among the nobles of Albion, and it looked like the Royal Family would soon be overthrown. If the rebels won, then the next thing would be the invasion of Tristain. To defend against this, Tristain was looking to form an alliance with Germania. For the alliance's sake, it was decided that I would be married into the Germanian Imperial Family."

"So that's why." Louise said with a depressed voice. It was clear from Henrietta's tone that she did not desire this wedding.

"It is alright. Louise, I have long since abandoned the notion of marrying the one whom I love. As a member of the royalty I have no choice. I have to protect my kingdom. It's the reason we royalty exist." she said with a sad smile, that seemed to weigh down on everyone in the room.

"Princess..."

"Those two-faced Albion nobles do not want Tristain and Germania to become allies. Two arrows are easier to break when they are not tied together." Henrietta murmured. "Therefore, they have been searching frantically for anything that would interfere with the marriage."

"And I suppose they found something ?"1337 questioned the Princess. He didn't know anything about the alliance or Albion, but in any case, it seemed like it was something serious. He just stood and watched as the two sat in silence, the Princess having lost all composure, clung to Louise. "Then this conversation is about that thing that could get in the way of Princess' wedding, and hinder the alliance ?" 1337 said flatly as ever. Louise looked at her familiar, her face went pale, and Henrietta gave a regretful nod.

"Oh, Founder Brimir, please save this unfortunate princess." The Princess covered her face with her hands, and started to weep.

"Tell me, please ! Princess ! Just what is it that could interfere with the princess' wedding ?" Louise, like she had also been infected, rattled off with an agitated look. With both hands still on her face, Henrietta looked like she was in pain as she began muttering.

"It is a letter that I had written some time ago."

"A letter ?"

"Yes. If those Albion nobles get their hands on it, they would probably send it forward to the Germanian Imperial Family as soon as they could."

"What kind of letter could that be ?" 1337 asked.

"That I cannot tell you. But if the Germanian Imperial Family were to read it, they would never forgive me. The marriage will fall through, and with it, the alliance with Germania. Then Tristain would stand alone against the strength of Albion."

Louise gave a gasp and seized Henrietta's hands.

"Where would that letter be ? The letter that would bring crisis to Tristain!"

"It is not with us. The truth of the matter is, it is already in Albion." Henrietta shook her head.

"Albion ! But then is it already in the enemy's hands ?"

"No, the one who holds the letter is not with the rebels of Albion. As the conflict between the rebels and his kinsmen unfolded, Prince Wales of the Royal Family..."

"The Prince Wales? The Prince Valiant ?" Louise cut the Princess off with an eager tone.

"Yes, the one and only." Henrietta replied with a nod. "Oh, it's a disaster ! Sooner or later, Prince Wales will fall captive to the rebels ! And when that happens, the letter will come to light ! And everything would be ruined ! Without an alliance, Tristain would have to take on Albion by itself!"

"Then, Princess, let me guess." 1337 said. "You want us to infiltrate into the enemy's territory, retrieve the letter, and return it to you, or destroy it if the first option is not available. Am I wrong ?"

"No you certainly are not Spartan." Henrietta said. "But still it's impossible ! How could I be so terrible ? When I think about it, I couldn't ask you to do such a dangerous thing as to go to Albion while this conflict between the nobles and the royalists is unfolding !"

"What are you saying? Be it the kettles of hell, or into the jaws of a dragon, if it's for princess' sake, I'll go anywhere ! There is no way the third daughter of the House of la Vallière, Louise Françoise, could overlook such a crisis for princess and Tristain !" Louise kneeled down and lowered her head reverently. "Please leave this matter to me, the one who has captured Fouquet the Crumbling Earth."

"Actually, I'm the one who caught her. Just clarifying." 1337 said simply, a wicked grin on his face.

"You're my familiar." Louise said simply.

"And?" 1337 responded annoyed.

"A familiar's achievement is its master's achievement." Louise said with perfect confidence.

"And a familiar's mistake?" He wondered.

"That would be your mistake, wouldn't it?"

"That's just plainly cruel." 1337 said, in an annoyed tone. Whatever, I am still too awesome to care about such trivial matter. But rest assure Princess, we will take it back. Or I will take it back, Louise will handle the diplomatic things."

"So you will help me ? Louise ! You are a dear friend !"

"Of course ! Princess !" Louise grasped Henrietta's hands, and as the former spoke heatedly, the latter gave in and started crying. "Princess! I, Louise, forever friend of the Princess, will be your confidante ! Have you forgotten my vow of eternal loyalty ?"

"Ah, the loyalty. This loyalty and sincere friendship ! I'm deeply moved. I will never forget through life your loyalty and friendship, Louise."

"Louise. Sorry to bother you while you're reaffirming your friendship and everything." 1337 interrupted.

"What would you be asking ?" The princess asked, looking startled at the calm demeanor 1337 was having.

"Going to Albion in the middle of a war is fine, I'm used to running straight into a battlefield, but I have some questions to ask." 1337 said, as he interrupted their moment.

"What ?" Louise yelled. "But you're my familiar ! You have no right to question her highness !"

"So what ? I still have questions." 1337 looked at the princess. "The more you answer them truthfully, the more chance we have to get things done. And without me you'd be sending your friend to her death. Therefore you wouldn't send your friend."

Henrietta looked at the Spartan, and saw he was serious. "Ask what you will Spartan."

"This revolt, what caused it?"

"A number of the nobles thought that they would like to gain control from the royals. Basically, a group of people decided that they wanted the power and had consolidated together to take back the power from the Albion Royalty. From what we know, they have plans to move on all the countries. As a group, they wish to take over the world as we know it. There is the possibility that they might even move on the lands of the elves, but that wouldn't happen till they have all of our Galad, Germania, and Tristian under their control as well."

"So this group of nobles has moved to take over Albion, and is likely to attack this country next ?"

"Yes." She simply nodded.

"And you're being forced to marry for the sake of an alliance before that has a chance to happen ?" 1337 pressed further.

"Yes." She sighed, she didn't want to think about it.

"So, in the end, you're ultimately setting yourself up for a lifetime of misery to protect your people from war ?" 1337 asked, a sad tone in the way he spoke.

"I suppose you could put it that way." The princess said, her voice unsteady.

"You're the first person I think deserves the title noble since I've come to this world."

"The first ?" She said, shocked. From what she had seen, the Spartan was a man of actions, not words. By having him gave her a praise, she started to blush slightly, but hid it well enough after years of training how to be a proper princess.

"Yep. Whatever, if you give me a mission, I'll accomplish it. I've already fought against two mages. One of them was even a noble !" He stated.

"One pervert old fat ugly noble at that ! Collecting innocent girls as his plaything." Derflinger said from the back of 1337. "He was lucky we didn't kill him."

"You're the one who defeated Count Mott !" The Princess gasped, shocked at this turn of events.

"Yeah. It wasn't that hard really." He replied with a laugh. "He couldn't exactly wave his wand around when I broke his hand. I didn't really want to fight but he wanted to do it the hard way around. If he hadn't gotten in my way I wouldn't have done it. But the nobles here seem so puffed up and self-important that they can't tell when they're obviously outclassed." 1337 simply stated.

"I see." The Princess looked down. This familiar was different than anyone she had ever met. "For that, you have my thank." This made Louise eyebrows arched up and Derf let out a chuckle. "I had known for a long time about his ways with the employees, but I have yet to find solid evidence. You really did me a favor there Spartan."

"I just want to protect my friend Princess. I did what needed to be done. No point in thanking me for that. Anyway, when does this mission start ?"

"So you'll do this mission ?"

"I suppose. I'm not all that thrilled about it since you're throwing your life away, but I can respect your decision." 1337 said.

"Then shall we go to Albion, find the Crown Prince of Wales, and get the letter back, princess?" Louise asked.

"Yes, that is correct. I feel confident that you, the ones who have caught Fouquet the Crumbling Earth, should be able to accomplish this difficult mission."

"As you wish. What is the top priority ?" 1337 asked.

"I've heard that the nobles of Albion have managed to drive the royalists into a corner of the country. It will just be a matter of time before they are defeated." Louise's face looked serious as she bowed to Henrietta.

"Then tomorrow, we shall depart."

Afterwards, Henrietta turned her gaze towards 1337. "Spartan, please keep taking care of my most precious friend." And then she gently held out her hand. A handshake ? He thought, but the back of her hand was turned upwards. What sort of gesture was this ? Ah, the whole kiss the girl on the back of her hand.

"That won't do, Princess ! To offer your hand to a familiar !" . Louise spoke up with an astonished voice.

"It is alright. This person will be acting for my sake, and without a reward, I won't have his loyalty." The princess said simply.

"Huh ?" 1337 seemingly bewildered. For some reason, he felt like paying back his little "master" talking down to him again. He had warned her, and now he'd play the fool for her benefit.

"When she offers her hand, it means you can kiss her. That's saying it plainly enough for you." Louise said, unhappy that the princess would lower herself to this.

"Is that so ? How aggressive." He said simply, as if bewildered by what she had said. Henrietta smiled sweetly at the Spartan. As he took off his helmet, he grinned deliberately at Louise. Louise muttered under her breath and turned her face away. 1337 took hold of Henrietta's hand, and then firmly pulled her to him.

"Eh ?" Henrietta absentmindedly opened her mouth in surprise. Then before they could blink, 1337 almost pushed his lips against Henrietta's. The key word here was "almost". If Louise didn't interfere at the right time, by throwing her shoe at him, he would have done it. Not that he wanted his first kiss to be done by someone he barely knew. But, unfortunately, the Princess couldn't handle the mental image of one of the most awesome hand handsome guy in the universe kissing her. The strength left Henrietta's body, and, slipping through his hands, she slumped into the chair.

"She fainted ? I wonder why that is ?" He said, like a child curious at a mystery.

"What are you doing to her Highness ? You beast !" Louise yelled.

"I'm not quite sure I understand the question ?" He said in the most innocent tone he could find. When 1337 turned around, the bottom of Louise's shoe was flying towards him and took Louise's jump kick in the chest. He was actually surprised she'd been able to jump that high.

"What was that for Master" ? This humble familiar was simply doing what he was told." He said, playing the part of ignorant fool to the pinkette.

"It was on her hand she gave you permission, the back of her hand ! A kiss on the back of the hand ! Why'd you give her an all-out kiss on the lips ?" Louise was so mad, it felt like she was going to catch fire.

"How should I know ! I don't know anything about your rules here. I'm in fact just a commoner dog. If you don't explain things to me correctly, how am I supposed to know ?"1337 asked, with a mock innocence.

"Y-y-y-you, you, you dog !" Louise's voice began trembling in fury. Henrietta rose from the chair while shaking her head. Louise rushed to kneel beside her. She then grabbed 1337's head and pushed it down to the floor, making the Spartan once again wonder where she took all that strength from.

"I-I'm sorry ! My familiar's misconduct, is my own misconduct ! And you say it, too ! Apologize !" Louise demanded.

"I'm sorry. I only did it since you told me I could kiss you. I misunderstood the instructions given to me." 1337 said, his clear voice sounding sincerely.

"And where can you find someone who would go for the lips when they hear that ?" Louise demanded of her familiar, and when he raised his hand, she hit him again.

"I-it's alright. Loyalty must be rewarded, after all." Henrietta bowed her head, giving real effort to appear calm. While the familiar was a commoner, he was also perhaps the most attractive man she'd met, with the exception of the Prince Wales. And the firm but gentle way he'd held her made her heart race.

"Anyway, Princess, I must ask you delay the mission a bit." 1337 said.

"May I ask you why ?"

"I need to return to the Academy and restock my supplies and weapons. You will never know what dangers lay ahead."

"Very well, how much time do you need ?" Henrietta asked.

"The day after tomorrow."

"Then, on that day I'll send the escort to the Academy. I'll also ask the Headmaster for permission, of course. If that's all, then tonight you should stay here, I already have the rooms arranged."

1337 nodded in return, and followed a maid back to his given room as Louise and the Princess walked back to her chamber, no doubt they were going to talk all night, and do whatever nobles do. The room was a large one, with a double king sized bed in the middle of the room. For once, 1337 found a bed that suppressed his weighted as he plopped down to the bed, making squeaking noises as he laid down. Soon he would fall into a dreamless sleep, resting peacefully. Though the peace wouldn't last long, for tomorrow, he would go to war again.

**Author's note : I know that this fic is 1337xSiesta one, but I watched the kissing scene of the anime I found it so funny that it had to be done. Anyway, a bit boring chapter, but it had to be done in order to make the next chapter more exciting. See that button "Review this chapter" ? Click it. The rest is up to you to find out. **


	8. New Love

**Author's note : This AN is a mandatory thing though I don't have much to say. Disclaimer I don't have. Moving on, this is chapter 8.**

-Tristain Academy of Magic-

The Princess had offered a carriage to 1337 and Louise to return to the Academy, but with the time limited and much to prepare, 1337 had declined it and went ahead himself, and Louise of course went along with him. Even though there were Royal guards sent to protect the carriage, a thousand guards weren't as safe as the Spartan. And thus after a few hours of traveling non-stop, with 1337 trying his hardest not to drop Louise off his hands, they arrived at the Academy.

The first thing he did was telling Louise to report the situation to Osmond, and told him about the next mission. This, of course was within the consent of Henrietta. As Louise walked towards the tower, 1337 got inside the Shed. He picked up two plasma grenades, leaving only a limited amount left behind, swapped the M90 for the M5AC AR, and exchanged the shotgun shells for about 5 clips of FMJ rounds. The M90 is a fine weapon, but it took too long to reload, and in the middle of the battle field it would be fatal. And of course, the Covenant Energy Sword and Shield, along with the batteries and med packs were also present on his back. But not to forget, his trusted partner Derflinger.

"Hey partner." Derf quipped. "That's a lot of stuffs you are carrying here. Are you going to need all of that ?"

"We are treading unknown hostile territory, in the middle of a civil war trying to retrieve an important letter that decides the fate of a country." 1337 said and loaded a full clip in the gun. "Pretty enough reasons don't ya think ?"

"No point in arguing over that." Derf admitted. "Now what ?"

"Well, eat my belly full, take a nice sleep and rest up for tomorrow."

"What about that little maid ? Don't you want to inform her of this departure ?"

"No need, she already knew." 1337 said as he pointed to the door. "Come in Siesta."

Siesta shyly poked her head into the Shed, and soon opened the rusty door and entered. She was a bit red with embarrassment when she was caught red-handed while ear dropping the Spartan's conversation with his partner.

"I'm sorry if I'm intruding." She said with a polite bow. "But what is this that I heard about a departure ? Why are you leaving Spartan ?"

"I can't really tell you that." 1337 expression softened when he saw the teary puppy eyes Siesta was making. "But I can promise you this, I will return."

Siesta was once again brightened upon hearing these words. She closed in and gave him a tight squeezing hug, her hands enclosing his large frame. 1337 also moved his hands and returned the hug, though his mind wondering how it had become so natural for him to have physical contact, and not in the kind of "I punch you in the face" kind of contact. Perhaps he liked the girl. When he thought about it, it was natural. She was kind, attractive, kind of reminded him his home, and really compassionated. And on her part, she would probably like him too. He rescued her, protected her, helped her in many ways, and to make it short, he was awesome, simple as that. But his trains of thought were disturbed when the door slammed open and revealed a fluttering Louise.

"Sorry if I interrupted." She yelled and ran way. The young couple pulled away from each other in embarrassment, and while Siesta had trouble hiding her red face, 1337 for more than once in his life was thankful of his helmet.

"I think you should go after her." Siesta said.

"Yeah, and perhaps I will see you tonight." He said before running outside, leaving Siesta in her dream world, the one that involve her and the Spartan in many situations that one could not bring to describe without breaking the T-rate of this story. She quickly snapped out of it as she had other duties to attend to, but not before she wiped the drool dripping from her mouth due to the naughty fantasies and let out her trademark "Kya !" squeal.

After scanning the area 1337 found Louise in her room, sitting on the edge of the bed, fuming quite loudly. He knocked on the door before entering, as he found that Louise was probably PMSing. It was a very high possibility. She was still in puberty and she was a girl, so that was normal according to his observation on how Louise was reacting quite heavily.

"What are you doing here ?" She snapped as soon as she saw him. "Why don't you go to that little shed of yours and get all intimate with that little maid, and leave your master alone ?"

"First of all, we are not being intimated, just a hug before I leave tomorrow as a goodbye. Secondly, you are not my master, I am your guardian, that's what we are." He sighed before continuing. "Thirdly, why are you reacting this way miss Valliere ?"

All he heard was silence. Louise was quiet and was lost in thought. He decided to let it be.

"Come and seek me when you have the answer." He said and jumped out the window. The fall wasn't that bad, he had deal with worse. Besides, this kind of stuffs happened all the time. The first thing he wanted was some food. May whatever entity they believed here bless the man of the kitchen, chef Marteau.

"Hey there Spartan." Marteau greeted him with his usual grin while chopping some vegetables. Spartan greeted him back before sitting on his usual spot, a table with a large rock that the considerate staff had made for him. His table was set in a corner near the window, where he could sit as close to the chef and wouldn't be a hindrance to the servants.

"What's on menu today chef ?" 1337 asked in his jovial tone.

"We got some fresh batch of fishes today." Marteau replied, sipping some red wine. "By the way, where were you the last few days ?"

"I was on a trip, trying to find some clue how to get home." 1337 said. It wasn't a complete lie, he had been looking for something that could tell him how to get home, but still, no such luck.

"Well, good luck with that." Marteau said before poured another glass. He offered the Spartan but he declined. "So if you wait for a bit I will make you something."

1337 nodded and put off his helmet to drink some juice Marteau had given him. After a while he was served with a steamed fish, though it looked like some strange specie, after staying here for a while 1337 already knew what was edible or not. After he finished, he thanked Marteau and walked outside to the yard. A little training wouldn't hurt.

He stood there and started to train for a while, though Kirch often commented and downright flirted with him half the time, he casted off her attention. A fraction of distraction in combat would prove a fatality, but to the enemy it would be a chance to strike, or escape if the situation was dire. Siesta passed along a few times, offering him drinks and a towel, which he gladly accepted. Kirch soon followed her example but failed horribly as she couldn't hold the tray without dropping the glass due to her high heels. And when she offered him the towel, well, he already had one. So all she could do was watching him train while giving Siesta a hateful glare once a while.

Some of the students also gathered and watch him train, most of them marveled at his display in strength and techniques. Though it wasn't much special, since all he did was running around the school's perimeter, sword training with Derf and CQC techniques, many of the male students were begging at his feet asking to be his disciples while most of the girls had a dreamy expression on their faces. 1337 knew these expressions all too well, he had seen them a lot on the female marines back on his days and all he could was sighed.

But no one could stay and watch him for the whole day as the begin of the evening, no one was left but just Siesta, who gave him some food for dinner and Kirch who came to check for him after dinner. Kirch soon left as her familiar Flame need a bath, leaving 1337 alone with Siesta. She sat next to him, smiling.

"Is it good?" Siesta asked.

"Yeah, it's really good." 1337 said, thankful again for the stuffs this world had.

"Eat all you want then." Siesta gazed at 1337 who was eating in calm fashion.

"Thank you very much. Most the time all I had was cold food." 1337 said after finished off the dish.

"That's a pity. You're a very kind man. And I'm really happy that you like the food so much !" Blushing, she wiped her eyes with her hands. "I made that one," Siesta said in a shy voice.

"Really ?"

"Yeah. I'm glad that you like it."

1337 appreciated this and that she'd made it herself was really kind of her. The atmosphere between them was very romantic, at least for Siesta. She suddenly said in a flustered tone

"Spartan ?"

"Yes ?"

"Umm." Siesta paused, as if trying to choose the right words. "We haven't talked much since you saved me. I wanted to thank you !" 1337 nodded.

"I didn't do it for thanks. I just did it because you needed help. So don't worry about it, ok ?"

"You gave me the gold a while ago." Siesta said after a few minutes of silence.

"So you're free now ? You don't need to work away from your family anymore ?" 1337 said, a hint of regret in his voice. She'd been one of the very few here who hadn't underestimated or looked down on him.

"About that, you know that the only reason I was working here was to help my family." Siesta said.

"I do. I also know that's why you got involved with Motty," 1337 said, spitting the name.

"Well. That _was_ the only reason that I was working here. But I have a new reason now." She said, as glanced up with a determined look. "My village is actually a very nice place. It's called Tarbes. It's about three days from here by horse, in the direction of La Rochelle."

1337 listened while polishing Derf, who was surprisingly quite.

"It's a very remote village and there's nothing really special there but… it has a very spacious and beautiful field. During the spring and summer, the flowers bloom beautifully. It's like a sea of flowers, as far as the eye can see, past the horizon. It is in the right season by now." Said Siesta, eyes closed as if she were drowning in memories.

"Sounds nice." He commented, wondered when he'd last seen anything resembling a field of flowers.

"Oh, why didn't I think of it before !" cried Siesta who suddenly grasped 1337's hand.

"About what ?"

"Do you want to visit my village Spartan ?"

"Huh ?"

"There's a special holiday for us. It's been quite a long time since I've returned to the village. If it's ok, please come with me. I want to show you that beautiful field of flowers."

"Sound lovely. When this journey is over, will you show it to me ?" he asked, squeezing Siesta hand lightly.

"Of course, anything for you Spartan. Ever since you showed me that there's a possibility." Siesta said, nervously looking downwards.

"A possibility ?"

"Yes. A possibility that even commoners can win against nobles. We live in fear of the nobles. Knowing that there are people who don't live like that makes me happy, as if their happiness was my happiness. Everyone in the kitchen believes that as well. I want to show such a person to my hometown." Siesta said. "Especially my family."

"I see."1337 felt embarrassed, one of the thing he rarely felt.

"Of course, it's not only that. I also want to show you the village. But, if I bring a man back suddenly, my family will be shocked. What should I do ?" Suddenly Siesta blushed deeply and whispered, "I can just say you're my lover."

"Wait what ?" He asked but then recognized the look in her eyes. She was determined, he could tell that.

"And then I'll say we're getting married, they'll be happy. My mother, father, brother and sister will all be happy." Siesta said with a dreamy look on her face.

"Siesta ?" When Siesta glanced at 1337, who was staring at her dumbfounded, though it couldn't be told with his helmet, she shook her head.

"Sorry. That will be troublesome ! Haha !" She laughed it off.

"Siesta, you're really bold sometimes." He laughed a bit too. Siesta blushed once again.

"I'm not being bold or anything. I just wanted to let you know my feelings."

"I know." He deadpanned.

"When I left home, my mother told me to not show anyone my body except to my chosen man." And with that, Siesta reached out and grasped 1337's hand once again and placed it gently on her chest.

"I would show you if you simply ask." She said in a gentle tone.

"Siesta, I know you like me, and in return I'd like to tell you how I feel right now." 1337 said, pulling his hand back. "I think I like you too Siesta. I feel really comfortable around you, you are really kind to me, and you care about me. I am still not sure though, I haven't felt this way toward anyone for my entire life, and I couldn't describe this feeling, but I am willing to give it a try." Turning his head toward Siesta, who was brimming with hope, he said. "So Siesta, are you willing to walk this path of life with me ?"

All she did was nodded and her eyes filled with tears of joy.

"Yes I do Spartan. Yes I do." She quickly wiped her tears away. "Can you take off the helmet a bit ?"

1337 said nothing but did it anyway. And the moment he took it off, Siesta jumped toward his face and kissed him, her arms went around his necks. He was surprised, but found the feeling rather pleasant, and his arms went around her waist as he deepened the kiss in return. The helmet fell to the ground with a thud, and Siesta was surprised when he returned the kiss, but she loved this moment and never wanted it to stop.

But it had to, since both of them, well Siesta anyway, had to pull out to catch some air. 1337 went to pick up his helmet, while Siesta filled her lungs with the precious oxygen.

"I'm sorry for the helmet, but I can't speak to you when I'm out of this. Not that you will understand anyway." He said when she looked at him curiously.

"Why don't you ask the Headmaster for a permanent translation spell ?" She asked him like it was the simplest thing to do.

"Why didn't think about that before ?" He hugged the girl once more. "Thank you Siesta. When this is over, I'd like to meet your family."

"It was my pleasure Spartan. Can I say we are lovers now ?"

"Yes, I guessed so, though I am not used to all of this yet." He scratched his head sheepishly.

"I promised that I will walk this path with you together, didn't I ? And don't worry, it was my first kiss too." She giggled before running off to the kitchen.

"Real smooth partner." Derf commented. "Didn't know ya had it in ya. A true lady killer ain't ya ?"

"I am just that awesome." 1337 dryly replied. This left Derf chuckled a bit. "Though I still should visit the old Osmond if I want that translation spell done. And he took off to the tower to get his hopefully way to speak properly without the helmet getting in the way. A meeting with the family in law would be ruined if all they could see from their son in law was a golden visor instead of a helmet.

-Next morning-

1337 woke up with a headache. Not that he minded much, the augmentation was far more painful, but it didn't mean he liked it either. The spell went well, though the sudden rush of information in his head made him want to vomit, but he held in. After that, he tried to speak with Osmond to check, and the results were good. Not only he can speak and understand, he could read and write the language fluently without his helmet.

He went back to the room, only to find a sleeping Louise. And soon he fell into sleep as well. And now he was here, at the gate of the castle together with Louise, who was still a bit groggy due to lack of sleep. They decided to leave early, so that they wouldn't make much of a commotion. Unfortunately, Kirch, Tabitha and Siesta were already there.

"What are you doing here ?" 1337 asked.

"Well I am here to say goodbye." Siesta said and 1337 turned to the other too.

"We want to come along." Kirch just cheerily said while Tabitha simply nodded. 1337 rubbed his temples and tried to told them off, but a sudden gust of wind came out of nowhere and blew away Tabitha's hat.

"Who is that ?" Kirch shouted agitatedly.

A rather stout looking noble wearing a feathered cap appeared out of the faint daylight behind him. 1337 immediately pulled out the rifle and pointed it at the man.

"Identify yourself !" He shouted as the noble descended from the sky with a winged lion with an eagle's head, which was in fact a griffon.

"I'm not your enemy." The man spoke. "I'm under the orders of the highness to accompany you on your journey. The princess is worried about just having you few going to Albion, but then again sending a whole troop of soldiers with you will be too suspicious. Therefore, I was appointed to accompany you all on this journey." The noble said while taking off his feather cap and bowing. "I'm the captain of the Griffin Knights, Viscount Wardes."

"Lord Wardes." Louise spoke in a trembling voice.

"It's been such a long time. My Louise, my dear fiancé Louise."

"Fiance ?" 1337 couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with this world. He looked old enough to be her father, he thought to himself. Though considering Earth's history, things like this had happened before. Wardes approached Louise and with a beaming smile on his face and picked Louise up.

"It's really been such a long time." Louise said with her face turning red with embarrassment.

"Still as light as ever, just like a feather."

"Viscount, please don't be like this. There are people over here."

Wardes, who placed Louise back down and replaced his hat said.

"Care to introduce your companions to me ?"

"Erm, that is Tabitha, Kirch, tha maid Siesta and my familiar, the Spartan." Louise said while pointing at them while she was introducing them to Wardes. 1337 just looked at him under his golden visor. Wardes said with a rather surprised look on his face.

"Are you Louise' familiar ? This is the first time I've seen a golem being human sized."

"Yeah, lots of people in this world said that the first time they saw me." 1337 said, meeting his gaze.

"It talked ?" Wardes was shocked beyond word.

"Yes and it can kick ya skinny ass if ya not be careful." Derf sided with his wielder. This made Wardes' eyes widened a bit more.

"Strange, indeed. Even though, I must thank you for taking such good care of my fiancé."

"I didn't do it for you." 1337 said. "I did it because nobody care enough about her to help her. If you did, you might have been there to protect her."

"Alas, my duty as a knight, keeps me away from my fair Louise. I am glad that someone else has stood in my stead to protect her." Wardes said, as he looked 1337 up and down.

1337 took the opportunity to size up Wardes. He was indeed handsome. Wardes had looks, and his eyes were keen, sharp and a strength within them. Not to mention he had the status, though to 1337 it could mean shit. In addition he had a muscular and well-built body, though nowhere as in top form as the Spartan, it was a good looking in normal folks' standard. Wardes would be fairly hard for a normal person to put down in hand to hand combat, but to win against the awesome 1337 ? Not a chance.

"Frome what I heard, you are the one who caught Fouquet of the Crumbling Earth. And the one who bested Count Mott as well. With your courage alone, nothing is impossible." Wardes gave him a broad smile. 1337 looked at the man, and could tell that smile was forced.

"Without the power or skill to defeat your enemies, courage is just a way to get killed faster. Only a blind fool would rush into battle relied only on courage."

"I suppose you are right. But to defeating a triangle mage with but a sword, you must have the power or skill of a master warrior to do that."

"I am just too awesome." 1337 answered back. Wardes gave a whistle, and a walked toward the pair. He climbed to the back of the griffin with grace, and then extended a hand to Louise.

"Come over, my Louise."

Louise lowered her head in hesitation and shyness, just like a girl who is in love. This made 1337 cracked up a bit. The ever prideful Louise, who never hesitates to hold her head high, was fidgeting like a high school girl. Louise, who was still hesitating, was suddenly carried up the griffon by Wardes. With one hand on the reins and his wand in the other, Wardes shouted.

"Well everybody, onwards !"

"What about us ?" Kirch yelled.

"If you can keep up and not to be a nuisance, you can come along." Wardes shouted and took off.

1337 turned to Siesta and took off his helmet, and motioned Siesta to come closer. They kissed in front of the two girls, and while Tabitha was reading her book as usual, Kirch's eyes were wide.

"I can't believe this ?" Kirch said. "How could you choose a commoner over me Spartan ?"

1337 was about to answer but Kirch cut him off.

"No matter Spartan. I would never give up the passion for you. As long as you marry me, you will become a noble, and you will be given the rights to have as much mistresses as you wish for. So remember, I'll make you mine someday." She winked before took off with Tabitha on her dragon.

"Okay that was strange." 1337 said as he turned back to Siesta. "But I could care less."

He caressed her face a bit more and hugged her.

"I have to go before it's too late. Take care of yourself when I am gone, ok ?"

She nodded and 1337 took off. She stood there and watched him run in a speed surpassing the fastest horse, leaving the trails of dust behind. She let out her trademark "Kya !" before returned to work once again.

**Author's note : Yeah, still no action but I got that romance stuffs down. It was a busy week as usual, college, Christmas and life need attention too ya know. But I'll work a bit more in Christmas vacation, so give me reviews.**


	9. Ambush

**Author's note : First of all to all those behind the screens thank you for reading, faving and alerting this story as well as my profile. Secondly, some of you commented on the last chapter that it was rather hypocritical of me to let 1337 commented about Wardes' being a pedophile, well this is true about Wardes' part, but to say 1337 is hypocritical wasn't all that correct. I'd like to point out that though 1337 is around the age of 40, his physical appearance and sometimes mental state are at the line of mid 20s, so I think that wouldn't be too bad. Furthermore, Wardes has a beard, thus making him looking older than he should be, therefore the statement of being a pedophile.**

**Anyway, hope that clarify some stuffs. And on with chapter 9.**

-Vicinity of Port City La Rochelle-

Wardes set a near impossible pace with his griffin, not stopping for a moment the entire trip. Despite the fast speed the griffin had to fly, it seemed just as tireless as Wardes and 1337. 1337, being both a hardened fighter and a superhuman with advanced augmentation, kept up the pace just fine, following the blue dragon or the griffin towards the destination.

"Viscount Wardes ? Shouldn't we stop and rest ?" Louise asked as she looked down on the tiny form of 1337 so far below.

"Louise, there is no need to be so formal when we are betrothed, together again after a long time apart, and as for resting, I had hoped to finish the journey in one go."

"We've made great time thus far." Louise said. "Surely it wouldn't hurt to stop for a few hours, allow the griffin to rest ?"

"Couldn't we just move ahead in that case ?" Wardes countered. "It wasn't so far away after all before we reach La Rochelle. My griffin can rest then for the rest of the night."

"But I couldn't possibly abandon the Spartan ! It wouldn't do for a mage to abandon her familiar."

"He seems to keep up just fine." Wardes said.

By now, they had reached a narrow path between two high hills, when suddenly torches fell from the peaks, illuminating the area around the group. From the peaks, a hail of arrows rained down, many of them aimless, while others had specific targets, namely the travelers. Wardes drew his wand-blade, summoning a gust of wind that blew the arrows away.

1337 already noticed the incoming attacks and the hostiles, as his HUD showed up around more than 40 units around the two hills, divided equally. The jackal shield was open and the green light showed up, lighting the present of the Spartan. 1337 held the shield up with his left hand to guard against the arrows, all of them bouncing off harmlessly.

With a rush, 1337 dashed to right as the hostiles started to attack from both sides. One of them threw a spear towards him, and 1337 spun to the left, the spear flew over his head as he pulled out Derflinger. With a simple swing, he cut through the man wooden shield and chopped his arm off. He spin kicked again to crush the lung pipes of a sneak attacker, and use the jackal shield to bash the skull of another man.

And then the screaming began, both from fear of the green demon butchering the men as well as the battle cries of those who were foolish enough to face him in combat. The screams echoed down to the group from the right-hand peak. Louise shuddered at the thought of the scene atop those peaks, remembering how the Spartan had fought.

Then, strangely enough, there was more screaming from the other peak, and Louise briefly thought 1337 had somehow managed to be in two places at once, before she heard a familiar flapping noise coming from the blue dragon.

Arrows shot up from the left-hand peak into the sky, towards Kirch and Tabitha. A small whirlwind simply dashed the projectiles onto the side of the peak, before a fire ball set the small parch of woods on fire, brought the archers tumbling down into the valley.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting." Kirche said when Sylphid was at the same level as the griffin. Wardes nodded as he fired wind spells that took down the archers and several others. Kirch and Tabitha did the same, taking care of the anti-air artillery while the Spartan fought off the ground troops. This didn't take long as anyone who came across the Spartan was like a lamb to slaughter.

After the right flank was taken care of, 1337 quickly ran to the left, slashing, dashing bashing kicking all the way, he moved closer into the woods. A few survivors were hidden, and a few of them were hiding. As soon as 1337 deactivated the shield as put Derflinger away, they ran out the ambush. However, none of them was prepared for the power of the M5AC as the FMJ rounds tore through their bodies, the thunderous roar echoed through the area. The last two members of the attackers surrendered as 1337 simply pointed the rifle at them.

"I want answer, and depend on it, you may live." 1337 asked in an emotionless voice. The men nodded vehemently as they dropped their weapons.

"Who are you, and why do you attacked us ?" 1337 continued in the same emotionless tone.

"We are a simple mercenary guild, hired to kill a simple group of travelers. We never thought we would be fighting against nobles." One of the men said, dressed in a black rag with leather belts over his shoulder as a make shift guard.

"Who hired you ?"

"We don't know. One day our leader came back with a mission, saying we will earn big money, so we took the job."

"Where is your leader ?" This was answered when the man pointed at a corpse down the hill.

"Please, that's all we know. Spare us, warrior, I have a family to feed." The man started to cry. His sob was stopped as 1337 fired off two single shots in the sky.

"Leave, and don't let yourselves seen by my companion. He won't be as merciful as I am." 1337 said, thinking about Wardes. The man had the air of death around him, 1337 was certain. One doesn't simply get to be a Knight without bloodshed.

As 1337 walked away, the other man, dressed in a green shirt, pulled out a hidden knife and aimed for a sneak attack.

"Partner, look out !" Derf yelled as the man attempted to stab 1337. Instinctively, 1337 pulled out the energy sword and with a simple swipe, the man was dead before his head hit the ground, leaving his companion in shock. But the merc snapped out of it as he felt the heat of plasma in front of his face.

"You have three seconds to run." 1337 spoke, no trace of mercy evident in his tone.

And of course, the merc took his chances and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, trying to run as far away from the green demon as possible. 1337 deactivated the blade as put it back on his hip.

"Why did ya spare him partner ?" Derf asked.

"He said he had a family to feed. He sounds sincere." 1337 replied and Derf said nothing at this. He tore off a piece of cloth from the dead and wiped the blood stains on Derf and the MJORNIR armor, till it looked clean enough while walking back to the group, who had now descended to the ground and wait for the Spartan. He also salvaged a few throwing knives that he held on a leather belt around his left arm. No point wasting things he could use, and salvaging from the dead was a common things he did during the war.

"I must say you are a magnificent warrior Spartan." Wardes commented as 1337 walked towards the group. "But these robbers were far too outclassed if they wanted to go against us."

"Yeah whatever. Listen, I found out from the survivors that they were not simple rogues. They were mercenaries hired to kill us." 1337 paused to let the word sink in. "Any ideas ?"

"Those wretched Albion dogs. They dare !" Wardes snarled.

"We know nothing yet, but it is safe to assume that we should be more careful from now on." 1337 said. "So let's go before it gets dark."

-La Rochelle-

The port city has a small population of three hundred because of it was situated on a deep and narrow gorge. However, the city was brimming with people, since the number of travelers is ten times more than the local population because La Rochelle is the gateway to Albion.

The whole city side that faced the sea, also the side that was most populated, was made out of a sheer large mountain. People had carved holes in the mountain, turning them into taverns and shops. This was a hard to achieve feat, and was done by Square ranked earth mages.

On the narrow street, it appeared to be dark even though it was afternoon due to the gorges blocking the sunlight. And if a traveler wanted to have a good rest, they would walk into a smaller alley that led to a bar. The bar was of a regular size, also caved out of rock. Though the shop was dilapidated like an abandoned house. Piles of ruined chairs could be seen piling next to the door.

Most of the patrons were criminals and mercenaries. As to prove the point, if people walked closer they could hear yelling and screaming in pains and profanities as the cheer of those who egged on the other to have a good bar fight. And to prevent death, the owner had set up a rule that no blood will be spilled while fighting. Other than that, you broke something that belonged to the shop, you pay. And thus, even there were injuries, no one was dead.

Currently this is where 1337 was, while the others stayed at a more extravagant hotel in the middle of the city. 1337 also had a room there, but right now, concealing under a black hooded robe, he stayed outside the door of the bar, using his enhanced hearing to pick up here and there pieces of conversations he could use to patch up a certain theory.

Right now he had heard enough to make out what really happened. Apparently a female mage with green hair and a wooden arm had hired a group of mercs to hunt down the group. And there was only one person 1337 knew that had a connection to him that matched the description. And thus that led to a conclusion : she had escaped out of prison. But then again, she was powerless without a wand, so there must be someone behind. But that bit of information he would keep to himself. And either Fouquet underestimated him too much, or they were served as distraction or stall some time. But right now he needed to go back. Louise must be worried again.

And it was proven correct as a frantic Louise approached him.

"Where have you been ?" She asked.

"Just walking around enjoying the air of the sea. Is there any problems ?" He replied.

"We are going to dine in the hall." Kirch said in a smooth silky voice. "How about joining us." She said as she wrapped her arm about 1337's chest, as she couldn't reach his neck.

"Leave my familiar alone Kirch." Louise hissed.

"I appreciated the offer miss Zerbst." 1337 said. "But I don't think you should be too intimated with me. I already have someone waiting for me."

"I already told you, my passion burns like a raging fire. Simple words will not make me forget my passion, Spartan." Kirch smiled seductively as she removed her hands and walked to Tabitha, who was reading her book in the corner as usual. Her dragon Sylphid was resting on the other side of town while Flame was constantly around Kirch's feet, wagging its flaming tail as it walked.

The dinner was great, as expected from a hotel reserved for nobles, and even someone with many complaints like Louise complimented the staffs. After the dinner, Wardes handed out the keys to everyone's respective room.

"Let's rest for now, take the keys." He said as he pulled out several copper keys. "Tabitha and Kirche take one room, the Spartan can take another." Wardes continued. "Louise and I will be sharing a room. It is the obvious arrangement as Louise and I are engaged."

Louise looked at Wardes in shock and said. "But we can't ! We're not even married yet !"

"But then, our marriage is not so far away, and I never asked you to give your body against your will." He said. "I will be sleeping on the couch."

This seemed to calm Louise down significantly as she silently nodded. Together they walked up the stairs towards the rooms they will be staying in, with 1337 at the end of the hallway and Louise's room at the beginning of the stair case, and Kirch's room in between.

Setting Derf and the M5AC aside, 1337 pushed the bed with his hand to see if it was good enough to support his weight. The bed made a creaking noise, but other than that it didn't collapse, and thus should be good enough. Slowly but steady, he settled down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Soon he would fall into sleep.

-Next morning-

1337 woke up at the brink of dawn like he usually did. After washing his face in the tub, he walked downstairs only to find Wardes already awake. He sat there on the table in the main hall, eating his breakfast.

"Hello there Spartan." He greeted.

"Good day to you too Viscount." 1337 replied.

"It was a magnificent battle yesterday."

"Not really." 1337 said as he put off his helmet for breakfast. Wardes, who never had seen the Spartan's face before, was in a surprise for life when he saw the pale skin and the awesome face of 1337. Some of the maids were giggling at this while some of them blushed, and again some of them did both. 1337 sighed as he picked up an apple and ate it quickly before putting his helmet back on again, much to the disappointment of the girls.

"I want to have a duel with you Spartan." Wardes asked blatantly.

"Seriously what is wrong with you nobles ? Every time I met some noble guy they invited, or mostly challenged me for a duel. Not you too." But then he pulled out Derf. "But none of them had ever given me a good work out. Can you ?" He pointed Derf at Wardes, and both said sword and knight chuckled.

"I think that I can." Wardes said as he finished his meal. "But there are rules in dueling. Can I assume that you knew about the regulations ?"

"I can remember the setting conditions before dueling, and about introducing names before dueling, but other than that I do not know much about this."

"You are correct in these aspects Spartan. This is a simple spar, no ? But what we miss is the witnesses."

"Witnesses ?"

"Yes, of course. The witness, also the judge, will also set the condition and decide who shall be the winner, and of course to prevent cheatings. Not that I expect someone like you would do that Spartan."

"A warrior needed to do what needed to be done in a battlefield to survive, and to win. Honor nor nobility had little to do with it." 1337 commented.

"Once again, you are right. You are a foot soldier, your point of view is different."

They sat there and talked for a while, mostly about warfare, when the three girls came down from the rooms. After they had their breakfast, Wardes announced the duel.

"But why ?" Louise protested. "We have no time for this foolishness, lord Wardes. We still need to go to Albion."

"The ship to Albion will not leave until tomorrow morning. Until then, I think we have plenty time for a duel." Wardes said reassuringly. "Besides, this won't take long."

"Strange." Tabithat muttered. Kirch simply nodded while Louise sighed. Ever since 1337 had come to Halkeginia she had been sighing a lot. Sometimes she even wondered if it would make her look older, and then again, she wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.

Both men walked outside the yard, to the front of the hotel and get ready to start. Wardes pulled out his wand/sword and gave it a few swings to warm up his arms while 1337 stretched his body.

"I've wanted to ask for a while, but are you the legendary familiar, the Gandalfr?" Wardes asked.

1337's expression changed, not into shock but suspicion. No one should have known about that, unless either Colbert, Osmond or Henrietta had finally blurted it out. In Osmond case, some girl had charmed him so he would spill it out. Henrietta and Colbert was a low possibility. Or Fouquet had spilled during interrogation, but he really thought that she couldn't know. Not since their battle only lasted for a brief moment before it ended.

When 1337 didn't respond, Wardes continued.

"Since that case with Fouquet, I've gained an interest in you. Besides being Louise's familiar, you was reported to have some skill with a blade, and some strange magic. I have an interest in military history, and looking through some ancient records, I discovered a familiar with abilities much like yours: The Gandalfr."

"You must be quite the dedicated scholar to sift through six thousand years of history to find such an obscure fact."

"Well, once I have set my sight on something I will do anything to achieve it." Wardes replied with a grin.

"And now are you going to fight me or are we going to talk all day ?" 1337 asked impatiently.

"Of course we are going to fight."

When both occupants were ready and stood in their stances, Louise stood at the door and gave her speech.

"And now I commence the duel between Viscount Wardes and the Spartan officially started."

The second she was outspoken, 1337 broke into a charge. 1337 aimed for a kick in the mid-section, careful not to use too much force that may kill the man in process, but Wardes simply evaded, and the kick connected to a wall of air around Wardes. Spinning around, 1337 pulled out a knife and threw it towards Wardes, aiming for his wand arm. Wardes easily blew it back with a wave, but the attack was a feign as 1337 ducked from under the wind blast and moved up very close. Wardes tried to evade, but his robe hindered the movement. That was all 1337 needed as he used a palm strike on Wardes' chest.

Wardes flew back as his back hit the wall behind. Louise frantically ran to Wardes to helped him up, and at the same time, 1337 slowly walked towards him.

"How do you feel ?" 1337 said as he offered his hand to helped Wardes up. "Gotta say, you last longer than I thought."

"My back is going to hurt, but other than that I feel fine." Wardes winced a little as he helped himself up.

"Viscount are you alright ?" Louise asked.

"Yes I am. You have a magnificent familiar my dear Louise." Wardes smiled. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to rest out a little." He said as he walked up his room. Louise glared darkly at him after Wardes had left.

"Oh dear here we go." 1337 thought.

"Why did you have to do that ?" Louise yelled.

"What do you mean ?"

"You broke his back. Why did you put that much force it that attack."

"Eh, no. And for your information I pulled my punches. And by the way, you may not notice, his attacks wasn't all that gentle either."

"But you are strong, you can take it." Louise argued.

"And your knight in shining armor is weak, is that what you implied ?" 1337 smirked.

"What ! No !" Louise yelled. She knew she couldn't win against his wit. Fuming, she too retreated back to her room. Kirch smiled at him sensually, and behind her Tabitha rolled her eyes a bit at the display of Kirch. She flashed him a thumbs up before returned to reading as usual.

"It was great Spartan."Kirch grinned a fox like smile. "I would love to see your actions in a more, ehem, private space, preferably with only the two of us."

1337 said nothing, but Derf cackled like a perverted old man until 1337 patted on the hilt, prompting him to shut up. The rest of the day went by quietly, much to 1337's relief, except for the constant flirting of Kirch, everything was just fine.

-Midnight-

A creeping feeling washed over him, and he could feel himself being watched. Hidden from view beneath his helmet, he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was blackness. There were no moons outside the window and the whole room was plunged into darkness. Looking around, he could see a shadow creeping around the corner of the room due to his night vision. Waiting until the figure crept closer, 1337 snatched Derf from the drawer and in one single move had Derf next to the figure's neck.

"Wait Spartan it's me !" The voice yelled. The person unveiled the robe and lit up a small fire, revealing the red hair of Kirch.

"You shouldn't sneak up on me, it could cost your life." 1337 said as he strapped Derf back on. "Why are you here ?"

"I wanted to sleep with you." She said bluntly. Derf chuckled as he could feel his wielder getting uncomfortable.

"Since you have awaken me I can't sleep anymore." He sighed. "I think I am going outside."

As on a cue, the blackness outside the window moved, revealing a large form on the beach. In his mind, 1337 was already in Spartan time as he grabbed the M5AC and Kirch by her waist and ran outside before a giant hand of rock came squashing down his room. The noise woke the tenants of the hotel as everyone ran outside when the giant kept smashing the other two rooms of the floor.

"Run !" He told her as 1337 set Kirch down on the staircase. Tabitha was also awaken and ran out of her room in a simple blue robe carrying her staff and her book. Before he could open the door to Louise's room it was kicked open. Wardes carried a half asleep Louise in his hand and wore only a simple white shirt with black pants.

"Everyone out !" 1337 yelled. "GO go go ! Kirch where are you going !" He said when he saw Kirch running back to her room.

"My familiar !" She replied.

1337 looked at Wardes, and as a military man, he understood what the Spartan meant. Wardes nodded to him as he hushed out the tenants while 1337 ran back to Kirch. He was just in time to kick away a large debris falling off the ceiling toward the red haired mage. Quickly before she could say or do anything, 1337 picked her up bridal style, her familiar lizard on her arms, he ran outside, avoiding the falling debris, not to mention the large hand made of rock trying to smash him every now and then.

As he ran outside, he could see the rock golem still standing and squashing the hotel down. Wardes had called everyone out in the neighborhood and led them to the beach. Tabitha and Wardes were fighting the golem on their perspective familiar, and though they could hold him back, it wasn't enough to destroy him.

1337 sprinted toward the hotel again after setting down Kirch, climbing the stairs and jumped toward the golem. Pulling out the M5AC, he fired several shots at the hooded figure on top of the golem, shedding the target to pieces. The figure felt down, yet the golem didn't stop. As he jumped down from its shake, he saw that the figure was made out of clay.

"Good, she learned from her last time." 1337 thought. "But that still means she is around here, controlling in the shadow. He ran towards the people near the beach, and yelled. "Everyone hands up." And everyone complied as they saw the muzzle of the "thunder musket" pointing towards them. Quickly enough, he spotted a hooded person trying to sneak out of the group.

"Fouquet !" 1337 screamed. Fouquet immediately broke into a charge and tried to flee with a boat that she had stolen. But she didn't expect the bullets hit her shoulders and pierced her boat and she fell down to the sea. All she could remember was the golden visor looking at her before passing out.

Fouquet woke up with a jolt, pain aching all over her body, but the most painful part was her shoulder. Glancing around, she saw the giant armored man sitting on a corner in the bland room. She felt cold. Looking down, she realized she wasn't wearing anything except a white bandage wrapping around her bosoms and over her shoulder.

"This is the last time I spared your life." A cold voice spoke. She glanced at the side as she saw the giant looking at her through his visor. "Now you can answer my questions, and I will give you a reason to live."

She nodded. She had no choice, she was unarmed and vulnerable right now. And even if she was armed, Fouquet doubted that she could face him one on one. She was completely at his mercy now.

"Good. How did you get out of prison ?"

"Someone broke me out. I don't know who he is, but he and I had something in common, we both want wealth and your downfall."

"Did the man ever mention who he was working for ?"

"You think he is from Albion ? It was possible, but he never said anything about it. But he was wealthy enough to hire me, so I think he is from the noble class, or at least he is connected to them."

"And why can I trust these information ?"

"You can't, and I understand. But I tell the truth. This is the only way to repay for your mercy."

"I gave you this last chance, Fouquet." 1337 said. "If I ever hear about you, and even the slightest rumor, about any crimes at all, do not expect me to show you mercy again."

She nodded and slumped back down again.

"The room and meals are paid, and lasted for one week. Rest until you are healed."

As he walked outside, he stepped into the airship. The group was waiting for him. From here on, they will be crossing the enemy's line. Not something he couldn't handle. But he was worry about the girls. They should be at school right now, not on recon mission. Sighing, he waited until the boat lifted up. Well, he should be worry less about that and focus on the mission. Now let's just hope that it went well.

**Author's note : a bit longer than most chapter, but I don't think you mind it. Reviews, and rejoice, people. The Killuminator demands it.**


	10. Pirate Prince

**Author's note : Sorry for the long delay. Anyway, here is chapter 10.**

-Near the border of Albion-

1337 suddenly jerked up and pulled out his rifle instinctively as he felt a sudden shift in gravity. Looking around, he found himself sitting next to a few shacks of what appeared to be grains of wheat. He was currently aboard of the air ship, which was on its way to the main castle of the Prince of Albion. The ship itself was not anything special. It looked like a normal sea ship, with the mast, the steer and all that, but with a giant zeppelin attached to the top.

And it was not a scientific way to float the ship by filling it with hot air, but the ship stayed afloat by using the wind stones, a magical item that generate wind magic. However it was expected by the Spartan. Though he often wondered that if they had enough knowledge to build ship with steering system, then why using magic instead of science. But he just shrugged it off, because the people here used magic just because they can.

As of right now everyone was here on the ship, while Sylphid and the griffin soared freely through the sky. Louise had told him that a familiar and a mage could communicate with each other on a telepathic level, though it rarely happened. 1337 was already used to telepathy, since it was also one of the few augmentations that were brought upon him and his fellow Spartans.

Blinking a few times, 1337 quickly stood up and placed the M5AC back on after checking that there was no threat. The pulse that he felt was the changing of wind stone. It would seem like the wind stone worked like a battery. 1337 started to stretch his body to remove his stiffness, and once that was done he moved across the room toward the cabins.

Walking across the small hallway, he passed several small rooms, one of them for Wardes and Louise, another for Kirch and Tabitha. He didn't pay much attention to them. The HUD showed some movement inside the rooms, but nothing seemed to be unusual and thus 1337 moved to the open desk. It was a bit cold up high as every crew member wore a thick leather jacket wrapped tight around their bodies, and some of them had donned some fur to keep it warmer. Personally, 1337 doesn't really feel that cold. The Mjolnir mark V he was wearing keep him from freezing, and he had experienced far worse.

The crew shifted their gaze uneasily as they saw the Spartan emerged from the rest quarter. They had seen how he fought the night before, and all of them felt in awe, mixed with fear and respect towards the giant man, or whatever he was, in front of their eyes. 1337 knew that, but he never paid much attention towards people who disliked him anyway. But it was also due to the fact that he was accompanied by nobles, one of them is the captain of the Mage Knights, that they felt so fearful and disgusted. The only person who was rather friendly towards him was the captain, who in turn was an acquaintance of Wardes.

1337 wandered around the ship aimlessly with nothing do to. He had never felt so bored. The only thing he could do was talking to Derflinger and asked him how things worked around here. Lucky for him, after a while, the rest was awake.

1337 felt an arm wrapped around him. He knew who it was, and it wasn't very surprising for him, since he had seen her coming from behind inside his HUD.

"Morning to you Darling." Kirch's silky voice whispered in his ears.

"Good morning to you too, miss Zerbst." 1337 replied. "Though I don't really appreciate this intimacy. So would you kindly place a distance between us ?"

Kirch walked behind him and whined and flirted at the same time, even if the Spartan never paid her enough attention. Together they arrived at the table where they could have breakfast together with the captain. Afterwards, the captain invited Wardes and the Spartan to his room, and the rest was free to wander through the ship.

-Inside the cabin-

"When can we reach Albion ?" Wardes asked the captain.

"We'll arrive at the border tomorrow at noon." The captain replied. "From what I heard from the other traders, the Albion Royal Army near Newcastle was under siege by the rebels. His Highness Prince Wales was missing."

"Where could he be ?" 1337 asked.

"I'm not sure. He seems to be alive, since the Royal Army still fought so fiercely." Wardes shook his head. 1337 nodded. If the Prince is dead or captured, the moral of the army would be down that they would either surrender or stop fighting to negotiate.

"Can we land on Albion ?"

"Alas no. The rebels have taken over the port and they are controlling every movement from the ground. Any ship that get too close without their permission will get shot down. I can only get you close to the border, but from there on you are on your own."

"Then how can we contact the Royal Family ?" Wardes asked.

"You will ride the griffin with Louise. And I will ride the dragons with the two girls. Drop me on the other side of the island and I will recon ahead. If necessary I will fight through the rebels and open a path for us." 1337 coolly replied.

"Fight your way out of the rebels ? Are you insane ?" The captain asked. "There are over 20000 soldiers stationed around the castle, let alone scattering through the island there will be perhaps more encampment. Running through them would be suicide."

"That's the only choice we have. And even if there are more than 20000 soldiers, in the end, they are only human."

"And what would you be ?" The captain asked.

"A human of course. But I have face far worse than just 20000 soldiers armed with primitive weapons."

"You shouldn't forget they also have mages." Wardes said.

"Haha, you haven't seen Partner's true power yet." Derf chuckled much to the amusement of Wardes and the surprise of the captain, as the both of them had never seen a talking sword before.

"Albion in sight !" The cry came from the crow's nest, stirring activity on the deck. Quickly the three men went out and joined the rest of the adventurers and crew to enjoy the sight. 1337 gazed ahead, before catching sight of a dark mass slowly emerging from the cloudbanks. Mountains and plains crept out from their misty cloaks, revealing an enormous island or small continent, with rivers that fell off the edge and into the clouds. And in the middle of the floating island, also the highest peak, a white castle was to be seen. While it wasn't as big as Tristain Royal Castle, it was still impressive. But the joy didn't last for long as one of the crew shouted out.

"Ship on the starboard side!" The look-out cried, rather late. A large ship, twice as large as the travel air ship. There was no flag, nothing to indicate which faction this ship was from. The unknown ship bared its broadside of rather large cannons at the air-merchantman, its port side covered liberally in cannon ports. The crew started scrambling for the ship's three mobile cannons, while others started signaling to try and ascertain the vessel's intentions.

"Pirates attack, all hands on board to arms !" The captain quickly yelled.

"Sir we don't have enough firepower to go against that kind of ship." The first mate reported. "We are also outnumbered, and our ship is slower than that one. We can only surrender and hope they spare us."

"Sir they appear to be signaling our ship." The look-out reported, glancing at the captain. "It's a signal for us to slow and allow for us to be boarded."

"Shall I just board them and destroy their ship ?" Wardes asked.

"No !" The captain shrieked

"Why not ?"

"They might be working for the Albion Royalty !"

"You mean privateers ?" 1337 asked. "Like in the terms of mercenaries, soldiers of fortune and such."

"Yes ! And you can't slaughter them if they are !"

1337 nodded, why Derflinger just "Tsk !" him, missing the chance to fight. 1337 understood that well enough. They were here on a diplomatic mission, any hostility towards the other side would be bad. The fate of a whole country rested on their hands, this was not a fact that could be taken lightly.

1337 observed as the ship pulled up alongside theirs, planks clanking down onto the deck and allowing a small horde of ill-dressed, dirty men to clamber onto the ship, spreading a horrible smell as they did so. The crew crowded around the Tristain nobles, hiding them from the initial search as the rogues ransacked the ship and gathered any of the stragglers onto the deck. One man, in a much cleaner shirt and with eye patch over his left eye approached the small crowd.

"Alrighty, where be the captain of this fine vessel !" He yelled.

"Here." Thecaptain raised his hand, shaking rather apparently. The apparent leader took exaggerated strides towards the captain, pulling out a saber that was cleaner and better compared to the rest of the pirate crew's equipment. Holding its sharp edge to the captain's face, the man spoke.

"We'll be taking your cargo then. Hope ye don't mind."

1337 stepped forward, shoving aside the other crew to approach. Before any of the students or Wardes could stop him, the pirates had already taken notice of the giant in green armor striding towards their leader, and the pirates drew their weapons before moving towards the Spartan.

Louise only saw her familiar draw sidestepped, before the pirates' hands were bend in the most impossible angles and the men themselves were flung back with great force, some hitting the railing of the deck hard enough to crack it.

The rest of them froze, allowing 1337 to simply walk into their defensive circle and face their leader directly.

"I ask this only because I want to know : With which side are you affiliated ?"

"Eh ?" was his dumb reply.

"Are you on the side with the royalty, the rebels or neither ? Speak up !"

"What does it matter to you ?"

"If you are one of the latter two, then I can kill all of your men before they could even blink. However, if you are sided with the Albion Royalty, then we should have a more civil talk with each other."

The pirates stood there and blinked for a second, before erupting into laughter again.

"Hah ! And what makes you think you can kill all of us ?"

"Because I am a square mage and he beat me down with one single hit." Wardes said as he stepped into view, ignoring the gasps coming from everyone who wasn't acquainted with the Spartan.

"Ya know what ?" The pirate captain said. "I ain't getting'paid 'nuff fer this. Ya wanna talk, ya talk wit' the Boss."

"Lead the way." 1337 solemnly spoke.

People, pirates and merchants alike parted way like the wave being split apart, leaving enough space for the Spartan and the pirate to walk through. Wardes followed suit but ordered the girls to stay behind except Louise, who followed since she also had a major role in this. Kirche and Tabitha had no choice but to wait outside the captain cabin, and the merchant ship soon left, not wanting to get involved with the pirates anymore.

Soon they found themselves at the Captain's Quarter, similar to the one at the merchant's ship. As the door opened, they could see a gorgeous dinner table and a pirate sitting at its end. He had black curly hair with a beard and an eye patch, complete the look of a middle aged pirate. He was playing with a cane that had big crystal attached on top of it. The cane was a staff and it seemed he was a mage himself. The Boss' room was very different from what one would expect from a pirate, as it was filled with books on the sides and not war trophies like the stories often told.

He looked intensively at Louise who entered the room. The captain who had brought her there poked her slightly from behind.

"Hey, you are standing in front of the Boss, so greet him properly."

However, Louise just stood there glaring at the Boss as he smiled at her.

"Ah, I like a strong willed woman, you are not a child at all." He smirked.

"I demand the treatment of an ambassador." Louise said, hint of anger in her voice.

"And what would be that message you are trying to give ?" The Boss asked as he ignored Louise's words. "And did you say royal ?"

"Yes, I did."

"Are you going to Newcastle ? They will be gone tomorrow." The pirate said with a cold air of indifference.

"I have no reason to tell you."

But the Boss spoke to Louise in a joyful voice.

"Are you willing to betray the nobles ? Otherwise, even if you are a mage I might not guarantee your safety even for considerable fee."

"I'd rather die." Louise replied defiantly.

"I'll ask you again. Are you willing to betray the nobles ?"

Louise looked straight ahead. She crossed her arms, and put out her chest. However, 1337 interrupted her before she could open her mouth.

"She told her answer already.

"And who are you ?" The Boss asked. He looked at 1337 with a piercing glare. But all he could see was his own reflection staring back at him through the golden visor. "A human?"

1337 said nothing but kept giving him the Spartan stare. Normally under any circumstance he would have go boasting about being the strongest Spartan of them all, but he knew his protocol. Never reveal a secret within enemy territory. The Boss didn't seem to be a threat, yet, but until his identity was confirmed he would remain silent for now. The Spartan stare would normally prompted people to shut up, as the psychological attack unnerved people. But it didn't seem to work well on the Boss as he started to laugh loudly.

"Oh, I am sorry." He said after he calmed himself down. "As a noble I should properly introduce myself as well."

He removed his black curly hair from his head. It seemed to be a wig. He also took off the black eye patch, and also removed his fake beard. Before them now was standing a young person with blond hair.

"I am a general of the Albion Royal Air Force and also the commander of our country fleet. Though to tell the truth this warship named "Eagle" is the only ship in our fleet. A powerless fleet. Oh dear, even people from the street could easily beat it." The young person bowed while introducing himself. "I am the prince of the Albion's Kingdom, Wales Tudor."

Wales smiled with a charming smile and moved a chair for Louise to sit.

"Welcome to Albion, Ambassador. Now, let's talk about your business in Albion."

However, Louise was still speechless. She just stood there dumbfounded, unable to move and kept looking at the sudden revelation. Wales smiled at this and answered the question for her.

"Probably you are wondering why do I dress up as a pirate ?" He said laughingly. "To hide myself ? No, the rich rebels sent a lot of support to the rebellion, and it is a basic war tactic to cut enemy's supply line. It was necessary so I had to dress myself like an undignified dirty pirate." Wales said. "It was really impolite to treat an ambassador like that. But I can't be certain of anything until I was sure of your intention. And I never thought about support from other country's nobles. Yet I still should apologize."

Even after Wales' words, Louise's mouth still kept opening and closing without uttering a single sound. She hadn't been mentally prepared to meet the prince so suddenly.

"We brought a secret letter from Her Highness Princess Henrietta." Wardes said as he bowed.

"Oh, from Her Highness. And you are ?"

"Captain of Tristain's Griffin Knights, Viscount Wardes." After that, Wardes introduced Louise to Wales. "And this is the ambassador sent by Her Highness from the Vallière family and her familiar, Your Highness."

"And this person in green is ?"

"For himself he still is a great mystery even for me. He is very powerful, and I'm glad he is on our side." Wardes replied. "He called himself Spartan."

"Spartan 1337, strongest warrior in the world." 1337 cockily replied.

"Such a splendid noble." Wales laughed. "And I only have my ten bodyguards to greet you, such a miserable greeting. Then, do you still have the secret letter ?"

Louise took out Henrietta's letter from her clothes. However, she stopped before giving it to Wales. After a few moments of hesitation she opened her mouth.

"Excuse me, but are you really a prince ?"

Wales laughed.

"Oh dear, you won't believe me even if I showed you my true face. I am Wales. And I am really a prince. I will show evidence then."

Wales said after seeing the water ruby ring shining on Louise's finger. The prince brought his own ruby ring closer to it. The two rings reacted to each other, shining with a bright light that formed a rainbow.

"This ring belongs to the Albion royal family, the ruby of the Wind, while that one belongs to Henrietta from Tristain royal family and is the ruby of the Water. Am I right ?"

Louise nodded.

"Water and the wind make the rainbow. A rainbow which is formed between royal families."

"True, I am sorry for my impoliteness." Louise handed Wales the letter and bowed.

After looking at the letter lovingly, Wales kissed the signature. Then, the seal was carefully removed, the paper inside was taken out, and Wales began to read. For some time he kept on reading it with serious expression.

"Is the princess marrying ? That beautiful Henrietta. My beloved...cousin."

Wardes bowed silently, with an affirmative expression. Wales dropped the glance to the letter again and smiled when the last line was read.

"Understood. The princess is informing me with this that she wants you to return that letter. And more importantly, the princess also hopes that I return a letter from her. Seems like it."

Louise's face beamed with pleasure.

"However, it's not in my hands right now. It's in the castle in Newcastle. I didn't want to bring the princess' letter to this pirate ship." Wales said laughingly.

"So, even though it's troublesome, please come with me to Newcastle."

The warship Eagle took the team to the ragged coastline of Albion. They had been traveling for three hours and could already see the cape, a big castle standing on its very edge. Wales explained to 1337, who was standing on the front deck, that it was the fortress of Newcastle. However, the Eagle did not head straight to the city, but instead sailed down the coast.

"Why are we going downwards ?" Wardes asked.

Wales pointed at the sky behind the castle where a huge ship was floating. However, it could not see their ship which was hiding on the other side of the cloud.

"They have a warship ready to attack anything that came within range." Wales pointed out.

While the others needed telescopes to see it, 1337 could see it clearly with his enhanced vision, not to mention the binocular function inside his helmet. It could be described only as a huge ship, it was twice as long as the Eagle with an incredible number of sails, and it seemed like it was aiming for Newcastle port. With no warning it opened fire aiming at the castle. The first cannonball crashed into the wall and a small fire could be seen. The shock wave from impact could be felt on the deck of the Eagle.

"This ship named "Royal Sovereign" once belonged to the fleet of our country. Yet, when rebels took control over it, they changed the name to "Lexington". It was named in honor of the battlefield where those guys snatched the first victory from us." Wales said with a smile.

"This warship keeps a constant blockade of Newcastle from the sky. It shoots at the castle from time to time, not in order to do some damage, but just to annoy us."

"Hmm. A threat. Should I take it down ? We wouldn't want Newcastle to fall before we get there before we can get the letter, do we ?" 1337 asked simply.

Again, all eyes turned to the Spartan.

"What did you just say ?" Louise asked.

"What do you mean take it down ?" The young prince said.

"Well, provided I knew the ship weakness, I can shoot it down from here. Nothing all that special." 1337 said as if it was something he did daily, which was true in his life as a Spartan. Of course he was not as good as Kelly but he was no slouch at ranged combat either. It was true that he preferred close range combat, but as every Spartan, he was trained to be the best at all form of combat, at least compare to normal human.

But none of the people presented knew about any of that, as there were cries of outrage as they called him too arrogant. Wales silenced his people and asked.

"We do have muskets on board, but I doubt that they would be able to reach the ship from here. So how are you going to do it ?"

"Your average musket couldn't, but mine can." 1337 said as he pulled out the MA5C. "Tell me where to shoot."

"As any airship the Lexington is also held afloat by wind stones, which are located at the masts. Shoot them down and the ship will fall."

"Tell the captain to slow down the ship." 1337 said before climbing up the outpost. He checked the wind current and distance to adjust the aim, and the calculation only took a few seconds, and the Mjolnir built in HUD helped out a lot. Holding the rifle steady, 1337 took a deep breath and closed his left eye. A thunderous roar could be heard the moment the ship stopped. Far in the distance, 1337 watch his work well done as the FMJ rounds tore through the wooden cases that held the stones. Smoke soon raised from the ship, and distress signals could be heard as the ship plummeted downward, crashing into a portion of the castle.

1337 put the MA5C back in its rightful place again and climbed down. All he saw was shocked expressions from his companions.

"What ? I got something on my face ?" He asked.

Wales was the first one to snap out of trance as he walked toward the Spartan.

"Excellent work Spartan. No wonder you call yourself the strongest."

"You haven't seen anything yet." Derf said after a long while of silence. Wales was a bit taken aback, but soon regained his composure as he found out it was a sentient sword. Sentient swords are rare, but not unusual.

"Darling it was really amazing." Kirche said as she attached herself on him, hanging on his shoulder.

"Good job." Tabitha threw in her two cents as she flashed him a thumb up.

"Splendid job." Wardes said.

"This calls for a celebration." Wales declared. Soon they reached the lower side of the floating island, away from view of those on land. The warship had arrived at a secret port of Newcastle. Inside the huge limestone cave was covered with white moss. Many people were waiting on the quay. Ropes were thrown to the sailors to tie down the Eagle and finally the wooden gangway was attached. Wales hurried Louise and the others to go down the gangway. A tall and aged mage approached them.

"Ha ha, wonderful military results, right, Your Highness ?"

The old mage seemed to appear out of nowhere before the Eagle.

"Rejoice, Paris. We brought down the Lexington !"

When Wales shouted so, around him the soldiers started to cheer.

"So that was the ruckus above about. Shame as the ship was once the pride of Albion. To fall in enemy's hands and go down like that." The old mage signed and started brighten up again. "But no matter. We should celebrate this. Tonight we feast for tomorrow we might fall in battle."

"My thought exactly." Wales said. "Come, we have guests."

All eyes were upon the team, but mostly they were looking at 1337. He was used to it so he just shrugged it off. They followed a series of tunnels before going up a ladder.

"This is a secret passage way for the royal family to escape in case of siege." Wales explained. "We are lucky that they haven't found out yet."

They came into a tower, in which the old mage mumbled an incantation and the stone wall removed itself, revealing a room. Louise and the others followed Wales to his room. The prince's room was suited behind the kitchen room and it was rather ordinary looking. A wooden bed, table and a pair of chairs, as well as a painting on the wall that illustrated a battle scene.

Wales sat on the chair and opened a drawer of the desk, inside of which was a little jewelry box. The prince took his necklace off, which had a key hanging on it. The small key was put into the lock of the little box and Wales opened it. Henrietta's portrait was lying in there. Wales, who had noticed Louise looking at the box, spoke embarrassingly.

"Strongbox."

There was one letter inside. It seemed to be from the princess too. Wales took it out with love and read it. That letter looked older than it should from being constantly re-read. After reading it Wales gently folded it and put it into an envelope, then he handed it to Louise.

"This is the letter I got from the princess. I am returning it as well."

"Thank you." Louise received the letter while bowing deeply.

"The Eagle will take you back to Tristain tomorrow, as we won't be using it in the battle."

Louise opened her mouth decisively after looking for some time at the letter.

"Are you going to fight tomorrow ?" She asked.

"Yes." Wales answered very easily. "It is so. My army has three hundred men while the enemy force has fifty-thousand. There is no chance of victory. So let us at least die in glory."

"Three hundreds, a good number." 1337 said.

"What good is there Spartan ?" Wales said, an edge to his voice.

"No, simply the numbers. Back home, there was once a battle between the three hundred soldiers from Sparta, an ancient city state. They are the reason I bear the name. They faced off against the massive horde of a man who believed himself a god. I might not be a historian, but I do know my origins."

"What happened to those three hundred ?" Wardes asked.

"Though they died to the last man, but they crippled the force of one million. They brought the fear into the opposing army, to buy them enough time to gather and regroup, ready for battle and saved their country. Something about you all remind me of that old story. Not just the number, but the fact that you're willing to fight on in the face of despair. For that you have my respect." 1337 said, with a smile on his face. Louise looked down.

"Your Highness, do you truly mean yourself when you talk about dying in battle ?"

"Of course. I will die as well."

"Your Highness, return! Return to Tristain !" Louise spoke to Wales in a feverish tone. Wardes abruptly put his hand on her shoulder. However, this did not stop Louise.

"I beg you ! Please, come to Tristain with us !"

"It cannot be done." Wales said with a laugh.

"Your Highness, I disagree. Princess Henrietta would think so as well ! I have known the princess since our childhood, I know very well how she thinks. My Princess does not desert the people she loves ! Your Highness, you didn't say it, but I am sure that the princess told you to run away as well !"

Wales shook his head. "There is not such line written."

"Your Highness !" Louise kept on pressing Wales.

"I am the Prince, Louise. I have a duty which I must uphold. I can't simply abandon my people, and the soldiers who risked their life to protect them. To do that would be cowardice, and shame the courage and trust of my men."

1337 nodded. Louise was silent again. After that he pulled something out of his pocket. From the shape and running arrow it seemed to be a clock.

"Ahhaha, it is time for our little party. Since you are the last guests of our kingdom, I would like you to attend it as well. Come with me, this would be last time we may dine together."

The group silently followed to the prince's last meal, not because he asked for it, but because they know Henrietta would want Wales to have someone retold her the life of her beloved until his last breath.

**Author's note : Okay, has been a while, so this time a bit longer, 5k of words. Anyway, I want reviews.**

**PS : I might be not updating weekly as college is draining my life force. I don't reckon anyone of you know where to buy a health potion right ?**


	11. Kidnapped

**Author's note : okay guys, sorry for the long delay, I've been quiet busy with life and college, but I tried to write whenever I have time and update as fast as I can. But I can't guarantee that I will be updating frequently. Anyway, here's chapter 11.**

-Albion Royale Palace-

The party was held in the castle's hall. The prince of Albion, Wales, sat on the throne and watched his loyal followers, from nobles to the last soldiers, who had gathered inside the palace through narrowed eyes. Though the next day everyone would die, it was still quite a feast and the table was filled with various treats. 1337 and the others were watching this colorful party while standing in the corner of the hall.

"They put all the troubles of tomorrow behind and are trying to enjoy the present." 1337 said eying the feast in front of him. Wardes nodded in response to Zero's words.

"Yes, they behave joyfully."

When Prince Wales stood up, everything started to quiet down and everyone hang onto the Prince's words.

"My fellow loyalists." He greeted them. "We all know that the enemies are coming, and they will be attacking tomorrow. I will be honest with you, we stood no chance against the attack of such magnitude. However, we will be labeled as cowards if we don't at least put up a decent fight and go down as warriors. Women and children, include men who wish to live, you can leave tonight by using the hidden passage. I don't blame you for leaving. The boat will be there, it will be yours to use. Anyone who want to live step up."

No one made a move. Instead, various cheers erupted among the soldiers.

"For Albion !"

"For the Prince !"

"Long live Albion !"

Wales raised his hands up to silence the crowd. And when the noise finally died down, he spoke once more.

"I see you are ready. Tomorrow we die." Wales raised up his goblet. "So tonight, we party !"

Once again the crowd cheered along with the prince and they all raised their fists up in the air. While the men cheered for their beloved leader there were some enthusiastic sighs between the ladies. It seemed like he was popular not only as a prince but as a handsome man as well.

And when he walked down from the throne, the long cape tangled his feet and Wales nearly trip on his own feet. Some laughter could be heard from the hall.

"Your Highness ! It's too early to fall !"

"Indeed ! Save that for tomorrow !"

Wales wasn't insulted by such comments, and smiled.

"Don't worry, it's just my legs were numb from standing for so long."

With this everyone returned to the feast. The four guests from Tristain attracted a lot of attention. The nobles didn't seem to be sad or worried, they playfully kept on joking and offering wine or food to the guests.

"Ambassador ! Try this wine ! Tell us which country's wine is better !"

"Here ! Try this ! It's Albion's special - chicken with honey, will make you healthy and strong for sure !"

Albion kept on having fun, even in the end. The people who acted joyfully at the face of death looked more sad than brave. Louise seemed to have felt it more. She couldn't endure the atmosphere, shook her head and ran out of the hall. Wardes followed her.

1337 sighed as he looked at the moons. Should he fight with them ? They would be able to win, with him on their side they could flip the table. But would fifty thousand be too many deaths on his hands ? What was it all worth ? Wales saw 1337 pondering at the side of the hall and came to him from the center of the hall with a few nobles following him.

"This man is Miss Vallière's familiar. However, it is very unusual for a person to be a familiar. Tristain is really an unusual country. And he is an unusual man." Wales laughed while saying so.

"I am an unusual person indeed." 1337 said.

"How are you feeling ?"

1337 had seen too many people died during the war, not to mention the Insurrectionists. Seeing people preparing for their death was depressing as well. While he respected their decision, he still had to wonder. Suddenly 1337 stood up and asked Wales.

"Sorry for asking, but aren't you scared ?"

"Scared ?" Wales looked blankly at the Spartan.

"People are scared to die. What about you ?"

Wales laughed after hearing 1337's words.

"You are worried about us ! Us ! You are a nice guy alright !"

"If you die it's over. With death, nothing can be decided. Believe me, I should have died more than I could handle. In the end, I've realized that dying is far too easy, living is quite harder to do."

"I will tell you, I am scared. There is no person who would not be scared to die. It doesn't matter if you are a noble or commoner."

"Then why ?"

"It is because I have something to defend. Something that makes me forgets the coldness of the grave."

"What do you defend ? Honor ? Fame ? Those are foolish things to die for." 1337 said with louder voice. Wales answered with distant eyes.

"The aristocrat faction 'Reconquista' is our enemy that tries to unite Halkeginia. It hangs to the 'Holy Land' ideal. It's good that people have such ideals, but it shouldn't be brought about with force and blood. All countries would be ruined."

"I know how it feels like." 1337 said. He knew, because the reason the Covenant attacked Earth and her colonies was due to the lies of the Prophets. "However, is there no chance of victory anymore ? What's the point of dying here ? I've been into similar situations before. Once cornered and we have the mean to retreat, we will retreat if there is nothing of valuable left to defend."

"No, we should at least show off a glimpse of courage and honor to other nobles even if is not possible to win, we can show that Halkeginia's royal families are not a weak enemy. Even though they do not seem like they will throw away the ambitions of 'Union' and 'Recovery of the Holy Land' anytime soon."

"Why ?" 1337 asked. Damn religions. Why did they always lead people down this path ? Why couldn't people use them for guidance, and not as tools to justify their own ends ? Wales declared decisively.

"Why ? Easily, it is our obligation. The obligation of those born in the royal family. The obligation imposed on the royal family to defend the kingdom to the very end."

"I see." 1337 understood it all too well. He would remain on Earth and died defending the home planet if the Covenant decided to glass it as well. Surely this battle didn't seem to be on the great scale as the Covenant war, the situation was the same.

"The princess of Tristain loves you. Did you forget her letter ?" After 1337's words, Wales smiled recalling it.

"Because of love, sometimes it is necessary to pretend not to know. If you love them let them go, right ? If I, a war refugee, not to mention an heir in line for the Albion kingdom, seek refuge within Tristain border, it would only give others an excuse to invade Tristain."

"I understand. Perhaps I shall take to the battle field with you tomorrow. I can help you win the battle." 1337 said. Wales gripped 1337's shoulder plate and looked straight into his visor.

"No. You are not part of this battle. There is no need for you to die. No matter how strong you are, against a force that large you would eventually be brought down." He sighed, then looked at 1337. "Don't tell this to Henrietta. No need to worry her pretty face with unnecessary worries. She is like a pretty flower. Don't you think so too ?"

"She is." 1337 nodded.

"Just tell her that Wales fought bravely and died bravely. That will be enough."

"I will." 1337 sighed. "And for the record, Spartans don't die. We just go to hell and regroup."

Wales laughed returned to the center of the hall after hearing that. 1337 left the feast, and asked the waiter where his room was. After he was told, someone tapped his shoulder from behind. 1337 saw Wardes when he turned around.

"I have to tell you something." Wardes said in a stony voice.

"And that is ?"

"Louise and I will hold a wedding here tomorrow."

"Well, congratulation." 1337 shook his hand. "Though I don't think this would be the best time to do this don't you think ?"

"I know. But after this I have another mission coming up, and I do not know when it will be over. So I wish to marry her now."

"I see. And why do you tell me this ?"

"I want you to become my best man and bear witness to our wedding."

"Very well. I will see you tomorrow."

With that, Wardes nodded and left. 1337 returned to his room and laid on the cold stone floor as the bed couldn't support his weight. He was thinking about tomorrow. Sure Louise was quite young to be married, but in medieval era 15 was a suitable age to be married. It should be interesting to see his little 'master' becoming a young woman.

As for Wales, he will support the Prince after Louise's marriage, no matter what. Sure Wales will be mad at him, but he didn't care. If he could save the lives of innocent people, then he would do it. Besides, at least Henrietta and Wales could live happily ever after.

"If you love them let 'em go, eh ?" Derf chuckled, not in his usual amused tone, but more of a sad sigh. "You wanna help 'em don't ya Partner ?"

"Yeah."

And 1337 would make sure this fairy tale would happen. After setting his armor's motion sensor on standby, 1337 closed his eyes and allowed himself some sleep.

-The next day-

In the palace's chapel, where the Founder Brimir's portrait hung, Crown Prince Wales was waiting for the bridegroom and the bride to appear. There were no other people around, as everybody was busy preparing for the upcoming battle. Wales also had planned once the ceremony was over, he will go for the battle as well.

Wales was dressed in the Crown Prince's formal uniform. He wore a bright purple mantle, the symbol of the royal family, and a hat with seven colored wings, the symbol of Albion's royal family. The door opened, Louise and Wardes had arrived. Louise stood with a dazzled expression on her face so Wales had to urge her to come and stand in front of him.

Louise was puzzled. Everything happened so suddenly. She was puzzled, because desperate feelings were swelling in her mind. She agreed last night without thinking. Wardes, after telling Louise that it was time to do the wedding, put on a bridal veil borrowed from Albion's royal family on Louise's head. The veil was nicely made, and the flowers that were quite fresh made it look indescribably beautiful.

Then, Wardes removed Louise's black mantle and replaced it with a white one, which was also borrowed from Albion's royal family. Only brides were allowed to wear it, as it was a mantle of a virgin. However, even while being dressed up by Wardes' hands, Louise was still unresponsive. But Wardes understood Louise's mood as a sign of her affirmative will.

Wardes and Louise stood up in front of Wales, who was standing below the image of the Founder Brimir, wearing his official uniform. Wardes, who himself was wearing his usual clothes and a magical mantle, bowed his head.

"Well then, let's start the ceremony." The Prince's voice reached Louise's ears. However, it sounded like a weak sound of a distant bell. Louise's mind was still lost in the fog of her own thoughts.

"Bridegroom, Viscount Jean-Jacques Francis de Wardes. Do you take this girl as your wife, and swear to respect and love her in the name of the Founder Brimir ?"

Wardes nodded solemnly and grasped the cane with his left hand, holding it out in front of his chest.

"I swear."

Wales looked at Louise and smiled encouragingly.

"Bride, the third daughter of the Duke de La Vallière, Louise Françoise le Blanc de La Vallière…" Wales read the oath in a clear voice.

Just then, Louise noticed that she was in the middle of a wedding ceremony. Her partner, reliable Wardes, for whom she once yearned. A marriage arranged by their fathers. Only now was her childish, absent-minded, distant future starting to turn into reality. She should be happy. Her dream was now made real. Yet she could still feel a pang of sadness coming over her. Looking on her side, she could see the Spartan standing there fully clad in his ever present green armor, impassive as ever, looking at her through his golden visor. Kirche and Tabitha were there as well, both looking so happy for her. But she couldn't help it but not to feel her happiness.

Perhaps it was due to the marriage was being held in the future grave of her benefactor Prince Wales. Or perhaps she was sad since the Spartan probably won't be taking the role as her protector anymore, since she had Wardes by her side now. She just didn't know it anymore.

"Louise, I ask if you will take Viscount Wardes as your husband, and swear under the name of the Founder to love and respect him until the very end." The words of Prince Wales snapped her back in reality once again.

Wales looked at her direction. Louise looked up panicking. She had the expression of a person who didn't know what she was doing there at all. Louise was puzzled. What should she do? What should she do at times like this? No one taught her that.

"Are you nervous? That's alright. It's your first time, it is normal to be nervous." Wales smiled, while talking.

"Oh dear, we still have to hold the etiquette. Doing this would have meaning only if we are to follow etiquette. Then, let me repeat. Do you take this man as your husband, and swear to respect and love him in the name of the Founder Brimir…"

Louise realized. She shouldn't hesitate with the answer, waiting for someone to tell her what to do. She had to make decisions for herself. Determined Louise took a deep, deep breath. And, before Wales finished his words, Louise nodded her head.

"Very well. Then I declare you two husband and wife."

All those that were present clapped their hands, including the Prince himself.

"Prince Wales, if you would." Wardes spoke to Wales. "The item that I asked for."

"Ah yes, of course." Wales smiled. "To ask for such an item, you must really love her."

Wardes walked closer to Wales and extended his hand to take the small box from Wales. Unbeknown to anyone, except 1337 whom reflex was exceptional, pulled out a knife from his side. The Spartan moved from his spot, sprinting at his max speed, but it was still too late. Wardes plunged the knife deep into Wales' heart. It was too late to stop an assassination at point blank range.

However, it wasn't too late to hit Wardes square in the face with full power, the speed increased the strength of the fist. The force threw Wardes back, right at Louise's feet.

"Louise, run !" 1337 yelled.

But she just stood there, in a daze. Her mind was still unable to comprehend was just happened. Wardes, her Wardes, the one who she always respected, had betrayed her country, murdered her best friend's love interest. She vaguely her protector shouting something, but her mind wasn't able to make out what. Before she knew it she felt her body was swept off its feet.

Wardes held her body close, a hand on the bloody dagger, the other on her throat. 1337 already had his MA5C out and ready, the finger hovering over the trigger.

"One wrong move and the girl is dead." Wardes said, though not as clear as written, since his mouth was still full with blood and a broken nose didn't make it any easier.

1337 couldn't afford to take risk, the life of an innocent was at stake. And thus he lowered the rifle, but his hand still holding it firmly. Slowly, Wardes moved away from 1337 and the rest. One sharp whistle came out from his mouth and before the Spartan knew, the Griffin came crashing through the window. 1337 run at him again, trying to catch him or at least get Louise back.

But he was blasted with a very powerful wind spell, not enough to wipe him off his feet, but enough to halt him. This gave Wardes enough time to board the Griffin and the off through the hole in the roof.

"Tabitha !" He shouted. Looking back, he saw her applying her water magic on the Prince, although his vital signals were still fading, albeit at a slower rate.

"Spartan… come… closer." Wales motioned to him weakly.

"Don't talk."

"No… you must… listen. Letter… was taken. Take it… back. Gave Henrietta… this." Wales said as he extended his ring finger, the ring with the blue gem on it. "Tell her… I love… her. Keep her… safe… for… me."

"I will." 1337 nodded grimly. Wales put on the last smile before closing his eyes. Slowly, his vital signals faded away as he inhaled his last breath.

"Requiescat in pace." 1337 said before he took off the ring. "Tabitha, call your dragon. We are going after Wardes."

"Yeah Tabitha." Kirch chimed in. "I don't believe I would say this but we need to help Louise."

Much to their surprise Tabitha shook her head.

"Why ?" 1337 asked.

"Need to visit Water Spirit. Need knowledge." She simply said.

"Is it necessary ?" Another nod from Tabitha for confirmation.

"Alright then. But make it quick. We need to get Louise back ASAP."

Tabitha nodded again and raised her staff. A blue light engulfed the tip and the dragon roared through the air, answering her master's call. Sylphid landed inside the palace garden, barely enough place for the large familiar. Soon enough they boarded Sylphid, and luckily she was strong enough to carry 1337 in his full armor.

-Somewhere in the forests of Albion-

They landed in a lake close to the border of Albion. 1337 was the one to jump down first while Tabitha and Kirch descended with a wind spell. Tabitha went to the edge of the lake and kneeled down, her staff at her side.

"In the name of the great spirits of the dead, I seek the old Water Spirit, as I wish to speak with her because of our alliance."

As the incantation ended, a blue transparent figure appeared above the water, floating toward the three. But the only person who could recognized the Water Spirit was the Spartan. After all, he had met her before.

"Hello Spartan 1337." She greeted.

"It's you !"

**Author's note: Ta ta dum ! Okay a bit of a cliffhanger here. So different than canon, Louise got kidnapped and the team gotta rescue her. Perhaps from here I can make some one-sided lover between Louise and 1337.**

**The Water Spirit identity should be clear as, well, water. If you can't guess, which are impossible, you are just stupid.**

**My bad for the short chapter, but I promised the next one will be better. Anyway, give a review if you care for me and want me to improve this fic.**


	12. Discovery

**Author's note : First sorry for the long delay, it was due to life being a bitch. Next, some of you wondered who the so-called Water Spirit is, which everyone no doubt knows that she is an AI. Now the question is who. Some said it was Mama, some said Deja and some said Cortana. So I lurked around Halopedia a bit and found the perfect candidate, both in appearance as personality.**

**In this chapter there will be a bit of a history between 1337 and this AI, as 1337 is a non-canon character, meaning he can be fit into any part of the story. Also, this chapter is made a little bit longer, as a sorry gift for being late.**

_-Harvest, 2531-_

_1337 sprinted around the building, or whatever was left of it and ducked under a pile of rubble as a makeshift cover. Whatever the Covenant was looking for, an artifact by the sound of it, it would be worth a lot of power, assuming the Covenant was pouring a lot of troops down here. Holding up the battered Battle Rifle, he blind fired a few rounds before running out of cover, firing a few bursts to the unlucky Grunts and swapped it for a plasma rifle from a dead Elite._

_Order was to rendez vous with a group of marines and sitting duck until evac arrived. 1337 was not too far away from the nav point on his HUD, and already he could hear the gun fire. Holstering the plasma rifle, he pulled out the M6 pistol._

"_20 rounds left." He mumbled. He sighed and started running toward the gun fire._

_A figure in red armor was running across the battle ground, a rifle in her hands, shooting at anything that wasn't human. She was tired, but kept running. If she stopped, not only she would die, but all the people behind her would die. She needed to hold the line until evac arrived._

_Her hands trembled, her aim unsteady. She knew she was at the verge of collapsing but kept on firing. There was the distinct sound of an Albatross. It was fine now. She slumped against the broken wall. A small breath of relief escaped her mouth. She had seen her old friend Ralph-303 all safe and sound aboard the Albatross, and finished her assignment._

_But her moment of peace ended abruptly as the sound of plasma rounds flew through the air. Taking a deep breath, she stood up again and blind fired behind her cover. One unlucky Grunt took the rounds in its methane tank and blew up, injured two other Grunts and disrupted the handheld shield of a Jackal. The Elite which lead the troops gave a quick bark of order as the Covenant soldiers returned fire._

_She waited until the sound died down, feeling the wall being chipped off bit by bit with each second passing. At the moment she heard the hissing noise of an overheated plasma weapon, the red Spartan ran out of cover, dodging grenades and carbine rounds as she ran, firing her MA5C at any Covvies that happened to be in her field of vision._

_Unbeknown to her, a lone hunching figure crept along the side of the building. A small noise of needler round flew through the air. Her ear registered the noise, and reflexively she turned around, only to face with a pink needle coming at her chest. Or it should be, if not for a green blur crashed into her, knocking her on the ground as the bullet flew pass her._

"_Phew that was close." A male voice said. Looking up, she saw another Spartan, wearing the standard green Mjolnir mark 4 without mods. _

"_No time to rest. We need to hold them off." She said._

"_Gotcha." He said and helped her up, and fired one single round toward the Jackal that shot the needler round, right between the small hole of the shield. "Can you walk ?"_

"_Yeah, I think. I am Daisy 023, you are ?"_

"_1337." He replied. "Arrived a bit late, there was a lot of Covvies around. Seems like you hold on well enough. Come on, let's get you to the ship."_

"_Ship ?"_

"_This is the last batch of Civvies. We are getting them off Harvest."_

"_Where to ?"_

"_Spirit of Fire." 1337 said and pointed to the sky._

"_Grenade !" Daisy shouted as they both ran to cover. 1337 picked them off one by one with the pistol until he ran dry._

"_Cover me !" 1337 shouted before charging out of cover with his Plasma Rifle firing continuously until it overheated. 1337 threw the gun straight at a Grunt's face and punted it, breaking down its internal organs and knocking it into another Grunt. Dodging a few plasma charges, he grabbed the leading elite by the neck and brought him down to the dirt. The Elite let out a quick bark before punched 1337 in the chest knocking him off. Quickly, 1337 grabbed a nearby REBAR piece and slammed it at the Elite._

_Meanwhile, Daisy was busy picking off Grunts which were panicking due to the lack of order from the Elite. It was an easy task, and gave her some room to breathe. Back at 1337, the force he used on the Elite was enough to disrupt its energy shield and broke off the cement, leaving a good bar of steel in his hand. 1337 quickly threw it at the Elite like a spear, impaling it. Blue blood oozed from the wound, yet it wasn't going down. The Elite grabbed the steel bar and pulled it off, chocking on its own blood as it did so. It flailed around, trying to grab the Spartan to take him down with its last breathe. It succeeded, however, 1337 simply brought his hands to the Elite's neck, and with a quick movement, he snapped it._

_Throwing the dead Elite aside, 1337 took a good look at the battle field. Dead Covenant soldiers scattered around, some dead, some dying. There was still one last Grunt standing. He looked at it, and it looked at him. An awkward moment of silence passed by, and a gently breeze swept through the battle field. The Grunt was the first to utter a straggled sound of fear and broke into a run. 1337 was faster, and ran after it. When he was within the range, a swift movement with his leg was all he needed to kick the unlucky Grunt. The poor thing flew pass Daisy and crashed into the wall, purple blue blood tricking down._

_Together, they both moved to the Albatross and took off, 1337 took a last look at the ground._

"_That will teach them not to mess with the awesome 1337." He grinned and flashed Daisy a thumb up._

_-Spirit of Fire-_

"_1337, 023." Captain James Gregory Cutter saluted the two Spartans. They were currently inside the conference room of the ship._

"_Sir." They returned the gesture._

"_Serina, give them the debriefing."_

_A figure appeared on top of the table, a young female with long hair, and her attire resembled a lab coat._

"_Yeah sure why not." She spoke in a British accent. "We are dropping you off in Arcadia, I set up some NAV points in your HUD, you go in, kill any Covenant force along the way and rescue the civilians in these NAV points. Easy and simple."_

"_Copy that." 1337 and 032 nodded. 1337 nodded because he didn't know any better than simply taking command and follow them, and 032 didn't really care much about the details except for what she needed to do._

"_Any questions ?" Captain Cutter asked._

"_Can I have a coffee ?" 1337 asked._

"_The mess hall is down the ship, level 3. ETA in 3 hours." _

"_Sir yes sir." The two Spartans saluted and left._

"_Come on let's get you to the med bay." 1337 said to Daisy._

"_I'll be fine." She said._

"_Spartan or not, you are still human." 1337 retorted._

"_Aw you two make a good couple." Serina chimed in._

"_We are not !" The Spartans shouted in unison._

"_Oh sure you aren't." Serina said and vanished._

_-Mess hall-_

"_Oh shit I'm sorry !" 1337 yelled as he hurried to find some napkins to wipe out the coffee stains he made. It wasn't entirely his fault, but sight-seeing the ship while holding a cup full of hot coffee seemed to be a good idea when he began the trip. Now, not so good. What was worse was the fact that out of any places, he spilt his coffee on one of the control panels on the wall._

"_Oh so you just walk around someone's house and drop highly lethal substance on it." Serina appeared in a panel and looked at him. _

"_I'm sorry, okay ? Just don't throw me out of the airlock."_

"_Ahem." Serina cleared her throat and started to look at her hand while motioned with the other for 1337 to come closer._

"_What ?" He asked._

"_Buy me some chocolate when this is all over." She whispered in his ears. "And I will forgive you."_

"_If that's what it takes to bribe you, sure." 1337 shrugged. "Though, why ? You can't eat them."_

"_Doesn't mean I don't want to have some. Promise ?"_

"_Fine, I promise. If we are still alive after this is over at least."_

_-Arcadia, 2531-_

"_Go go go !" The sergeant barked. 1337 and 032 were ready and inside the pods. The drop went well enough, except for that little funny feeling in his stomach 1337 felt fine. Looking up, he saw the spirit of Fire left before running for cover and returned fire. That was the last time he saw the ships and its sarcastic AI again._

-Gallia Forest-

"You." 1337 pointed at her.

"Hello 1337." Serina said. "I assume you didn't bring any chocolate ?"

"You are supposed to be dead !" 1337 said, still a bit in shock.

"Really ? Is that how you start a conversation with a long lost friend ?" Serina looked at him with a deadpanned look on her face. "And FYI, my ship was MIA. Well it was blown up later but that was after the slipspace malfunctioning, which is another irrelevant topic."

"So how did you end up here ? And playing Water Spirit as well ? Are you rampant ? Now you think about it, it's funny really. The ship is Spirit of Fire, and you act like a Water Spirit. It's ironic really. I couldn't imagine…"

"Shut up !" Serina said, managed to contain the calmness of her voice. "Oh god you are annoying. How the hell did Dr. Halsey keep up with this farce is beyond me." Serina threw her hands in the air dramatically and sighed. "But I think you are not here just to find me and chitchat. What do you need from me ?"

"Yeah, I need to find a person. She was a friend and she was kidnapped. Her last known position was from the Albion Royal Palace. Her kidnapper rode a white Griffon. My little friends here said you hold lots of info, so can you help me ?"

"No need to be insulting here." Serina said. "I have at least a dozen satellites scanning the orbit for me, things like that are too easy. I'll tell you later how I got here and how I got the satellites." She looked up the sky for a moment, and that was about 2 seconds, which was all the AI needed to read the info. "She is a little girl with pink hair isn't she ?"

One single nod from 1337 confirmed this.

"She is being held in an encampment, 200 km south from the Palace she was captured. I'll set a NAV point in your HUD. There."

Sure enough, 1337 could already see the NAV point glowing blue in his HUD. Turning to his left, he saw the two girls whom expression spelled curiosity all over their faces.

"Sorry about that Kirche, Tabitha. I know you two have a lot to ask but that's for later." 1337 said. "I need you two to return to the palace and report the situation to Henrietta. Tell her to prepare the army, Albion will attack soon."

"But darling…" Kirche whined.

"No buts." 1337 was absolute about this. "We have no time to waste. Tabitha, I trust you to do this well."

The blue haired girl simply nodded and dragged a bawling and whining Kirche away by her cape collar on the dragon and took off. Turning back to Serina he spoke.

"Now that's over and done with, I'll have to retrieve you. Standard protocol." He shrugged.

"There is something you need to pick up as well. A package to be exact."

"Package ?" 1337 knew already too well what a 'package' meant. For Spartans, a package up to retrieval was either a VIP or important intel.

"A certain red clad Spartan. I managed to keep her alive by using the hydro fusion core and extract the water from the lake to run it, so to speak in simple term that a caveman like you can understand."

"And how exactly did you stay sane enough to do this ? I mean, how long had you been here without being rampant ?"

"It's like I am almost a metastable AI or something." Serina said. 1337 could already feel the sarcasm dripping from her virtual mouth. "And it's not nice to ask a lady for her age."

"You ain't no lady." 1337 mumbled.

"What was that ?"

"Nothing." 1337 quickly replied.

"I'll let that slide, for now. The thing is, you need to bring the pod up here, as I can't open a cryo pod underwater."

"Okay, got it. Get in, take the package, get out." 1337 said as he started to wade into the lake. "Just wait here for me. If I didn't come out after 5 minutes, just wait longer."

"Oh yeah, because I can just magically sprout a pair of wings and fly away, you know."

"You can ?"

Serina said nothing but sighed dramatically and facepalmed herself. When the water reached his chest 1337 started to dive down. It was a bit dark down there, but nothing the built in flash light couldn't fix, not to mention his implemented unaided night vision.

It didn't take long for him to see the black outline of grey metal underwater. There wasn't much left of the ship, and it wasn't even a whole part of the ship. 1337 could vaguely see the large hydro fusion reactor, and a few tubes that led away to another part of the lake. Following those tubes, he soon came upon the pod.

The pod was glowing faintly, the blue light barely shined through the green moss that grew on the surface of the glass. A faint crackle was heard before 1337 heard the voice of Serina speaking in his helmet.

"After you unhook the tubes from the pod, there will be 5 minutes relay before the reserve energy ran out and the pod will automatically open. Between these 5 minutes, you must get her to the surface."

"Okay, got it." 1337 said.

Swimming through the bottom of the lake, he lifted up the pod. The weight was decreased underwater, making it a lot easier for him to move. He kept moving toward the edge of the lake until the tubes reached their maximum length. 1337 plugged off the tubes with a pull, and continued to carry the pod, a timer ran in his HUD, counting down the 5 minutes.

He got it into the surface, the water level barely reached the opening of the pod. Groaning, he pulled it away from the water. That was good too, because only 5 seconds later, the pod shifted slightly, the cold air exited through a slit when the pod slowly opened. As the pod slowly opened, he took a good look at the Spartan in front of him. The red armor was scorched at several places, scratches and dirt. A bit cleaning would take most of the dirt and scorch marks off and a good paint job would do it.

The red Spartan stirred, and automatically grabbed her shotgun on the side of the pod and pointed forward.

"Easy, you just woke up, no need to be hostile. We are safe here, I think." 1337 said.

"1337 ?" Daisy asked.

"Don't forget about me." Serina threw in her two cents. "I'll fill her in. Go grab my chip."

"Got it." 1337 said. "Prepare for culture shock."

"Please, after all I have been through…" Daisy said, "…what else can surprise me ?"

"We'll see."

-10 minutes later-

"I…I can't still comprehend this all." Daisy had her helmet off and was pinching her nose bridge. "So you tell me we are in a planet with a force called magic, with mythical creatures and all that fairy tales stuffs ?"

"Yep." 1337 nodded. Serina avatar was in his palm, nodding in agreement.

"If I am not seeing the two moons above my head I would think you are pranking me." Daisy sighed and shook her head. "What planet are we on ?"

"Unknown. All I have is that we are on a continent named Halkeginia. Funny enough the lands countries look like the equivalent of Europe, albeit via development they are at Medieval Era at best."

"It's going to take a while to get accustomed to…" Daisy snapped at 1337, who was staring at her. "What ?"

"Your hair."

"What about it ?"

"It's longer than I remembered."

"Wha…what the hell ? Is that what take your attention ?" Daisy said.

"Come on, it's been a while. Can't a guy pay attention to his friend's changes ?"

"Oh, it's like it was yesterday." Serina said. "You guys look just like a married couple."

"No we are not." They both shouted, and looked at each other. "Quit copying me."

"Aw look at you." Serina chimed in.

"Here." 1337 said, giving Daisy the chip. "You take her in. Just in case I broke my helmet."

"I don't get a choice in this do I ?" Serina asked.

"Nope." 1337 said as he handed her the chip. "Time to go. "

"Where to ?"

"Retrieve another package." 1337 said grimly. "I made a promise."

"I see." Daisy holstered her shotgun. "Let's go."

"I've set up a NAV marker on both of your HUDs. I estimate 50 minutes until you reach the first checkpoint."

"I take point." Daisy said and started to run.

-La Rochelle-

"I've been here before." 1337 said. "This way."

They walked toward the port, and this time, luck was on their side. They came across the very captain that took their ship to Albion for the first time. The poor man nearly stumbled backward when he first saw the giant green man walking toward him, another one in red coming along with him.

"What…what can I do for you ?" The captain stammered.

"Take us to Albion."

"I can't do that. The whole country is in a state of war right now. I heard the Prince was murdered, and the royal guards were helpless as there is no one to lead them. If I sail my ship there we will be shot down."

"I know, I was there." 1337 nodded. "No one will shoot you down, I already took care of the Lexington. Now if you don't want to take us there, let me borrow your ship."

"But… this is all that I have. I can't just give my ship away like that."

"Listen…" 1337 grabbed the man collar and gave him a dose of the Spartan stare. "I save your ship, your crew and including your life from pirates. You owe me. I'll borrow this ship, and return it to you. If it gets destroyed, I'll pay you back."

"Fine, fine, just don't kill me." The captain said, almost too quickly.

"Good." 1337 let him go and signaled Daisy to follow him. "Is the ship at the usual place ?"

"Yes." The captain nodded.

"By the way, find Wardes family and tell them I'm delivering his corpse there. Tell them to prepare his funeral."

"Lord Wardes is dead ?" The captain was in shock.

"Not yet, but he will soon be." 1337 nodded grimly and took off.

"You seem worked up. Normally you are very relaxing." Daisy said. "I guess this Wardes you spoke of managed to piss you off ?"

"I made a little girl a promise. I promise her I will protect her. And Wardes, let say he was someone dear to this girl, and he betrayed her right in front of my eyes and took her captive."

"I see. Betrayers are the worst kind of enemies." Daisy wrapped her arm around him. "Don't worry, we will get him."

-Albion-

The trip went well enough, and while 1337 can steer the ship well enough, since it seemed quite like a normal sea ship, he still needed coordination from Serina, with some help from Daisy now and then. Mostly her role was the look out, but 1337 appreciated it. It would seem that she still had a hard time believing what she was witnessing. Flying ship using magic, magical creatures flying around them, unknown life forms and nature.

"She will get used to it." 1337 thought. Spartans are made to adapt to any situation. "Hey Derf, why are you so quite lately ?"

"Well, for one thing I don't understand a single word you guys said." The sword told him.

"My bad, didn't mean to leave you alone."

"Nah, don't worry about it. We are going to get Missy Little Pink back, and then there would be enough time for introduction."

"You're right." 1337 nodded. "We need to focus on the mission first."

"Of course I am right." Derf said. "Am I not always ? Oh wait, never mind."

"NAV point in sight." Daisy said loudly.

"I advise you set the ship to the clearing near the forest, 5 clicks near the encampment." Serina said over the speaker of Daisy's helmet.

"Got it."

With a swift move, 1337 steered the ship near the floating island and follow the course that had been set up in his HUD to avoid patrols and anti-air artillery, namely dragon corps. The landing was rough, with tree branches being snapped as the ship make it through the wood. Fortunately, the ship didn't obtain any damage, except for a few scratches on the sides.

"Rules of engagement ?" Daisy asked.

"Well, either you guys go in gun blazing and kill 70000 soldiers in one big whoops," Serina said casually. "…or you will be sneaking in, find the package and get out ASAP."

"Sneaking in it is." Daisy said. "Infiltration is my thing."

"Copy that. I'll create a distraction, since I am not good with stealth, and we will meet later. Serina, set her language translator on, in case she met the package."

"Already on it." Serina said. "All I got is a basic description of the package : pink hair, small figure, female, age 12-14. Fill me in."

"Let's see, stuck up attitude, often call you by names, can make explosion with a magic stick. That's about it."

"Okay, I'll send you visual image for confirmation then." Daisy said after giving up on this guy's way of thinking.

"Copy that. I'll go ahead. When you hear the distraction, sneak inside the camp and find the girl. Her name is Louise. Just tell her I send you and she need to come with you. I'll find a way to keep the ship ready when you are done."

"Roger that."

"Alright, I'll go." 1337 said and started to run off to the forest. Only after he was out of sight, Serina spoke to Daisy.

"You like him don't you ?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Heightened blood rate, higher heartbeat, and increased production of pheromones. Are these things saying anything to you ? No ? Because to me, those are your body reading the moment you saw him."

"Just don't interfere, okay ? I have to focus." Daisy snapped.

"Oh ho, I may even help you with that. Just that when he at your knee giving out chocolate, I want some of that."

"This conversation is over."

-Reconquista Camp-

It was almost dusk when they arrive, and they waited until the sun was finally down and the night was black before moving in and set the plan into motion.

"So partner, how are you going to do this ?" Derf asked over 1337's shoulder.

"Well, let me tell you, it's a time honored tradition of the Spartans, involving blood, pain, explosion, guns, and more explosion. So that's what we are going to do. If there is no explosion to make, I'll just set the camp on fire."

"Sounds good to me." Derf said.

"Me too. Let's go."

They were outside the camp border, with Daisy waiting behind them. The camp was larger than 1337 had anticipated. There were wooden wall built high, with patrols every minute, as well as outposts on every corner.

"Serina, where is the heaviest guarded tent ?" 1337 spoke inside his internal speaker.

"On the east side of the camp, I'll mark it on your HUD. It'll be most likely that your package will be there."

"Good. So Daisy, get there and take Louise out to the ship. I'll deal with the rest."

"Copy that. Good luck."

"I'm a Spartan. I don't need it. Most of the time." 1337 said smugly.

Taking out his last plasma grenade, he chucked it at a random part of the camp, where the blast radius couldn't reach the NAV point. When an explosion was heard, coming along with screams of pain, he casually walked to the main gate.

"So Partner of mine, what are you going to do now ?" Derf asked.

"I guess I won't be using you this round. I'll incapacitate the guards until Daisy can take Louise out of here. After that I'll go for Wardes."

"True that I'll won't be much use as a blunt instrument, but can I have a go at Wardes ?"

"I promise you that much." 1337 nodded.

"You got that right Partner." Derf chuckled. "So how are you going to fight ?"

"Just like how I was taught to grow up." 1337 smiled. "With my bare hands."

In the meantime, guards were starting to gather at the main gate, and the musketeers on the outposts were aiming at the Spartan. The gate opened, and the soldiers moved outside in a V formation. They weren't attacking yet. They were waiting for order, and soon an officer showed up. His armor was decorated with animal pelts and fur, and a red cape was wrapping his shoulder. He had a staff in his hand, and a sword in the other.

"So, you must be the Spartan I've heard Viscount Wardes speak so much about. Today is your lucky day, for today you may die at the hand of…"

His word were stopped when 1337 broke into a charge and leaped over the formation of soldier and landed on the captain, his knee making a dent on the armor. Using the captain body as a cushion, 1337 landed down and took out his Energy Sword.

"Hey, I thought you said no to kill humans." Derf said.

"Can you make a fire ?"

"No."

"Guess so."

1337 broke into a charge, swiping the Energy Sword as he ran. The intense heat from the plasma against the fabrics of the tents caused them to ignite and soon a fire was raging, spreading from tents to tents like a plague.

"That'll keep them off our back for a while."

-Back to Daisy-

She crept through the border of the camp, her armor covered in dirt and mud, blending it in with the surrounding. Slowly, she crept meter by meter until she reached the target. On her way there she tried to be as silent as possible. Contrary to popular belief, the MJOLNIR armors are pretty silent despite bulky looking.

The HUD scan showed up 5 units inside the tent. Whipping out a flash bang grenade, Daisy primed it and tossed it into the tent. 5 seconds, that was all she needed. The moment the loud bang went off, she entered.

4 shots went off the shotgun. 4 bodies dropped. One second to take out the gun, each one second to fire. The last person huddled in a corner, locked in a cage, chained by her throat.

"Oh god." Daisy yelped as she looked at the petit form of the little girl. "1337, sending visual image now."

"Yeah that's her." 1337 growled. "I am going to find that bastard Wardes, and rip him apart."

"You should." Daisy replied. "I am bringing her back to the ship. See you there."

"Roger that." 1337 said and cut the connection.

Crouching down, Daisy ripped the cage apart and broke off the chain. Holding up the small form of the sleeping girl, Daisy started to make her way out. It was a good thing that there was disarray between the soldiers that no one was able to make out the shadow of a Spartan and a little girl in her arms.

-Back to 1337-

No amount of rage can describe what he was feeling at the moment. He knew Wardes was evil, but to the extent of caging an innocent little girl who used to adore him, who was to be wed to him, that was too much. Wardes was similar to the Insurrectionists, in a way, but even the Insurrectionists wouldn't chain a little girl.

Wardes was going to pay, and he will be sure that it will be painful. 1337 didn't even need to look for him, Wardes came to him. Flying on his griffin, Wardes looked down upon the Spartan.

"I knew you are insistent, Spartan." Wardes said, his voice spread loud and clear by wind magic. "But I wasn't expecting you to show up so soon."

"Shut it Wardes. You are going to die today."

"Tough word for a single man." Eying him, Wardes smirked as he saw Louise wasn't with the Spartan. "And don't forget, I hold the cards."

"We'll see."

All soldiers had ceased the chasing. They all looked at the two, giving them a large circle. The smart ones left a greater distance, knowing well how devastating the wind spells are. The stupid and curious ones stayed closer to witness the battle, which they thought without a doubt would end in a blink of an eye.

As on an invisible cue, both combatants moved. Whipping out the MA5C, began to spray several burst fire while dodging blast upon blast of wind spells, which were casted by Wardes, who was riding on his Griffin from above.

"Hahaha. You missed." Wardes laughed. "You can't hit me with that gun of yours. My magic shield is strong, Spartan."

However, it was 1337's turn to laugh. His laugh was loud, and it unnerved Wardes a bit, yet he decided to play tough.

"So, have your mind finally collapsed then ? Do you finally understand the different between us ?"

"It's funny that you thought I would waste my bullets on trash like you." 1337 said, wiping out fake tears on his visor. "Look down, then back up. Then look back at me. Now your face spelled 'Oh Shit !'".

True enough, when Wardes looked down, his eyes nearly popped out of his socket. His precious griffin was bleeding, the white wings soaked with blood. It struggled to stay in the air to its master's command, but failed. Wardes realized it wasn't the Spartan's intention to shoot him from the start, but to bring him down to the ground, to take away his advantage of being airborne.

Wardes hit the ground, hard. Staggering, he tried to stand up, chanting another spell as he moved. 1337 already expected this, moved with Derflinger drawn in his hands. The wind spell was done, and it was casted at the Spartan. It wasn't enough to blast 1337 away, but enough to make him struggling to stay on his feet.

"Come on, focus. Here we go." Derf yelled. At the same moment, the sword bathed in a golden glow as the sword returned to its true color, the hilt and guard in a gold color and the old mushy brown handle returned to white. At the same time, the sword sliced through the wind spell. Or rather, the spell dissipated wherever the sword went.

"Alright, it worked." Derf cheered.

"What worked ?" 1337 asked.

"My old ability, the ability to absorb magic."

"Handy." 1337 commented. "Any chance we could pull that off again ?"

"Sure thing. Just keep slashing and leave the absorbing over to me."

"Here goes." 1337 charged again, Derf drawn in front of him. Spells upon spells were partially absorbed and split, rendering them harmless. Wardes was panicking and fired spells upon spells without incantations, which weakened them considerably.

1337 swung a left hook, and his fist connected to Wardes' throat, and the man was choking for air before he collapsed to the ground. 1337 held Derf in a reverse grip and stabbed the bastard in the arm, the blade buried deep in, pinning him to the ground like a trapped rat. His scream of pain was heard over the camp.

"Quit whining. I barely touched you." 1337 coldly stated. "Expect no mercy for what you have done, what you may do and what you will do."

Twisting the handle, he heard the satisficing sound of bones snapping and cry of pain before he pulled the blade out. He lifted Wardes up by the throat and cut off the other arm while kicking the legs, bones snapped and blood sprayed everywhere.

None of the soldiers dared to move. The sign of their leader being slaughter by a single man, savagely, crudely, was terrifying. Wardes began to go limp. His eyes rolled back and his heart slowed. Throwing him in the air, 1337 held Derf back like a baseball player and swung it, severing Wardes' head from the neck.

"FATALITY !" Derf loudly exclaimed.

Picking Wardes' head up, 1337 ripped the cape from the lifeless body and wrapped it in before he began his way toward the gate. Some of the soldiers tried to hold him off, nut a single glare from him made them dropped their weapon and ran. None pursued him. Without a leader they never knew what to do. They were mostly mercs for hire, and some of them dropped their weapons as well.

1337 knew that disorder wouldn't last long, soon there will be someone else to take charge, but for now, it gave him the time he needed to bring Louise back to Tristain. Slowly, he make his way back to the ship.

-La Rochelle-

"Here is your ship back." 1337 said to the captain after he parked the ship to the dock.

"A few scratches, nothing I can't do." The man replied. "Thank you for taking care of her."

"Did you tell Wardes family about his demise ?"

"Honestly, I couldn't. I can't just go and say he was dead without any proof."

"Here you go." 1337 said and throw the cape at the ground, with the head encased in it. "This should do. If anyone asks, just tell them I killed him myself."

The captain stared at the ground in disbelief as his body trembled. Wordlessly, the two Spartans walked passed him and moved toward the way to the Academy, the form of a little girl sleeping in their arms.

**Author's note : Initially I didn't plan to bring Daisy to the story, but heck, one thing led to another and I got this. I hope that no one will hate me for choosing Serina as AI and Daisy as the other Spartan. On a side note, should I make it 1337xSiestaxDaisy ? I dunno, since Daisy pretty much outmatches any guy in this universe. Anyway, reviews are always appreciated. **


End file.
